It's Just a Jump to the Left
by The.Devious.Miss.Caity
Summary: DH compliant  minus the epilogue . After years of harboring a secret crush, a sexually/romantically frustrated Hermione is determined to make Severus Snape her own. Her plan goes hilariously wrong when Miss Granger finds herself in a different time.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at HG/SS. This will be a time travel fic that involves lots of humor and smut. Bare with me, it's been a while since I've written fanfiction.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own and I'm not benefiting from.**

Severus Snape should not be alive, that much was certain. Nagini's bite was a rather aggressive kiss of Death; the venom of the blasted snake should have done him off in mere minutes. After the initial shock that Voldemort had done a fast one on him wore off, Severus was rather excited to meet his end.

If he had died, he imagined after all the trouble he went through he might have been able to see Lily again and she would forgive him for those fateful words so long ago. He could almost picture her running to him now, squealing a 'hello' and throwing her arms around his waist.

'Thank you Severus.'

He'd smirk at Potter….because of course James Potter would feature himself in Severus' moment. It would infuriate Potter if Lily threw herself into his arms and that would make the moment so much better.

But Potter would always be the one, and Severus could no longer deny that even in his own version of heaven.

Ultimately though, Severus would be at peace.

But alas, fate was cruel and Severus survived the snake's bite. His overenthusiastic, know-it-all (albeit brightest) student would see to that. She would double take while Weasley and Potter left him to die. She would reach into her giant, god-forsaken-bag and pull out a bezoar. She would shove it through the open wound on his neck and then hurriedly spew healing enchantments, tears falling down her face.

She would pause for a moment and look at him with the most peculiar expression and then she would lean in and whisper into his ear.

"I'd like to believe you are smarter than the death eater mentality", and she would leave him there. Alive.

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Hermione Granger was sick of life, that much was certain. She was a decorated war heroine, an intelligent independent woman, and she was entirely bored.

After the war Hermione had finished her last year at Hogwarts, passing her N.E.W.T. exams with flying colors. Ron and Harry had decided that they would take a much needed year break before pursuing their seventh year of education.

They had tried desperately to convince Hermione to do the same, but she was stubborn and motivated.

She and Ron had pursued a relationship for a brief two week period after the war. They had mutually come to the conclusion that their blossoming war-time romance was a response to the fear that the war would have left them dead without someone to love.

She did love Ron, but it was in a much more brotherly way than she anticipated. That made for awkward kisses, hugs, and a disastrous attempt at sex. After fumbling naked with the red head they both decided that it was a moment that would never be spoken of and that they were much better off NOT in a relationship.

Molly Weasley had been disappointed, to say the least, and for awhile gave Hermione books on romance advice and couples counseling. When Hermione stopped by for a Weasley dinner she would take her into the kitchen and hint that Ron 'would love a woman who could cook' and would begin an impromptu cooking lesson.

Finally after a horrid attempt at making Shepherd's Pie, Hermione had to admit to Mrs. Weasley that she thought of Ron as a brother and that it wouldn't matter if she whipped up a fine four course meal; Ron and her would never have sex again and Mrs. Weasley would never get grandchildren out of them.

Molly was disappointed but she understood Hermione's 'explanation' and dropped the subject faster than a hot potato. From then on Hermione was welcomed as Ron's other sister, which gave Hermione the opportunity to enjoy the Weasley dinners instead of bask in her own embarrassment.

This left Ron free to pursue other, more successful, love interests and soon he was in the arms of a loony friend of theirs. Hermione had been surprised at first but after much thought and consideration, it made sense in some weird logical way. They were great together and both seemed happy as clams.

Plus Luna could cook like no other. Hermione had been reluctant when she received her first invitation to a Ron and Luna dinner party, especially because the main entrée was something Luna had deemed 'Blubbering Tootsies'. The meal was fantastic though and Hermione soon learned to ignore the weird names of the dishes Luna served.

All in all it was a great relationship for Ron; she just wasn't sure what Molly would do when Luna popped out pink haired babies.

Hermione, however, had no luck in the dating scene. She had made an honest effort multiple times, but she was disappointed in the lack luster conversations and lack of intellect from the men of the wizarding world. She wanted someone who would debate inane issues with her, someone whose eyes wouldn't glaze over when she asked their opinion about the latest article in Potions Weekly.

She tried to compensate with men who were ungodly attractive, but their abundance of good looks seemed to annoy her even more. Not to mention they only were interested in her ridiculously high social status and her breasts.

Of course she wanted good sex, who didn't? But she wanted a partner to. Someone who understood her, who challenged her, whose voice would melt her to butter…

To be honest, Hermione already knew who fit this bill. The thought of this particular person terrified her, however, and she had been quite un-Gryffindor like in pursuing this man's attention. She thought about it several times and once even got as far as his door before she berated herself for stupidity and took off.

She had always been attracted to the Potions (and then Defense Against the Dark Arts) Master. His silky voice did things to her insides that no promiscuous play, up to this point, had ever been able to do. The discovery that it was he who had penned the brilliant additions to potions and the creative spells in Harry's battered potions text made him all the more attractive and exciting.

The fact that he had just off-ed the Headmaster, however, had made Hermione feel guilty for the thrill she still got when thinking of him. Dumbledore's death never made sense to her, though she never admitted so to Ron and Harry. Deep down she knew there was more to Snape's story and it was with a girlish grin and a faint heart that she listened to Harry's revelation of the man's character after the war.

She wanted him. Bad. And if Hermione was anything, it was determined. Though her nervousness had one out multiple times when it came to Professor Snape, Hermione had finally plotted a plan that hopefully would secure her the heart she so wished to have.

There were only a few things standing in her way, and damned if Hermione would let a few things get her down.

But… it didn't help that he wished she had left him dead….

…

..

Or that he was still in love with Harry's mum.

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**Stay tuned for future chapters with smut galore!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello All! I'd like to thank you for your interest in this story. I was surprised by the amount of you who put this story on alert and I hope to update as much as I can. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, I benefit from nothing.**

"GINNY WOTTER," Hermione bust through the doors of Potter Cottage, her hair strewn about her face and a wild glint in her eyes. She was dressed haphazardly and looked like she had received very little sleep the night before.

"GINNY," she cried again, looking desperately around the quaint living room for the red head. Her search ended at the doorway to the kitchen, where the red headed witch was leaning against the doorframe with her eyebrow raised.

"Hermione," she greeted in an amused voice, "How many times have I told you not to use the name 'Wotter'. I don't care how convenient it is for you. I was happy to take the name Potter."

Hermione brushed off her statement with an impatient hand. She rushed over to the girl and grabbed her by the shoulders. A crazy grin lifted the corners of her mouth and soon she was beaming at her younger friend.

"Ginny," she exclaimed breathlessly.

"Hermione," Ginny said, her eyes widening in alarm. She slowly raised her own hands and pried Hermione's fingers from her shoulders. She ducked into the kitchen and Hermione followed her.

"Ginny, remember that very VERY top secret thing I told you never to tell anyone?" Hermione asked, accepting the mug of tea the girl Potter handed to her. She took a seat and sipped at the simmering cup, watching Ginny with hawk like eyes.

Ginny paused in her movements and turned towards Hermione, her face marred in confusion.

"Umm…no, I don't." Ginny took her own cup of tea to the table and slid into a chair next to Hermione, who was beginning to look a bit put out.

"You know…the secret! The BIG SECRET. The top secret don't-tell-anyone-or- I-will-never-help-you-get-Harry secret!"

Ginny laughed and set down her tea.

"Oh right, the Snape thing…yeah what about it?"

Hermione set down her own cup of tea and looked around the kitchen for signs of any other life force.

"He's at work Hermione, you know that," Ginny said, laughing again at her brunette friend. Hermione blew at a strand of hair that found its way into her face.

"I've got a plan Ginny. I'm sick of pursuing men who frankly bore me. Professor Snape is sitting at Hogwarts ready for the taking and I'm bothering with gits who don't even know the theories behind the proper brewing of the Sand shine Potion. I mean can you believe it? The Sand shine potion!"

Hermione paused to take a look at the red head who was watching her again with amusement. Ginny calmly took a sip of her tea and regarded Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

"I told you to go after ol' Snapey after you saved his life, remember? You should have jumped on that at the hospital. Of course we all learned about his obsession with Lily Potter then, but I mean the greasy git would have appreciated it I'm sure, he probably hasn't been laid in ages. I don't know why you are trying to gain my acceptance now."

Hermione glared at the red head.

"Professor Snape, Ginny. And I'm not looking for your acceptance; I'm looking for your assistance. Frankly you owe me after that little lingerie shop episode with you and Harry," Hermione gave Ginny a pointed look.

Ginny giggled and blushed, raising her glass to Hermione.

"Touché…so tell me this plan of yours Miss Know it All."

A feral feminine grin spread over Hermione's face and Ginny knew she was in for a juicy adventure.

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Severus Snape perused the halls of Hogwarts, looking for students who dared defy the rules of the prestigious wizarding school. He was rather bored this evening and hoped to catch a few students in compromising positions, as to ensure that he could dock more points than necessary.

Certainly his nasty disposition had weakened in the aftermath of the war, but Severus still enjoyed the sense of fear he instilled in the students. He felt it was the only way in which they could flourish in the many disciplines of Hogwarts.

He no longer felt that he needed to be completely unfair in his teaching related decisions, but he was still strict.

A noise from the left corridor caught his attention and with a whip of his impressive robes, Severus detoured to the left, wand held aloft in his hand. Giggling was coming from behind the statue of Gehilda the Googly Eyed. Severus switched into spy mode and crept silently towards the trouble makers.

'Oh Blake," giggled a female student, whose romantic endeavor was about to end in detention and loss of house points.

Severus heard the girl's counterpart shuffle and before the boy could reply, Severus drawled, "Oh Blake indeed."

Severus threw himself around the statue and the two students leapt apart, as if burned. Their eyes widened and the blush that was staining the girl's cheeks drained from her face faster than he could say 'Sectumsempra'.

"Students," Severus drawled, "Caught after hours…snogging." He drew himself to his full height so that he was touring over the two miscreants.

"Whatever shall I do Mr. Bagend? Should I deduct points, should I assign you each enough detentions to last a life time?" Severus stared down at the students, pretending to be deep in thought. The girl had started to shake and Mr. Bagend bravely reached out an arm to pat her comfortingly.

"Or…shall I let you two go and remind you that if I ever catch you here after hours again, a mere detention will look like candy." Severus pasted his trademark smirk to his face and without a second's thought the two students recognized the dismissal and tore off down the hall to their respective common rooms.

"Aw, to be in love," Severus muttered to himself, if a bit wistfully. He shook his head and turned back to the corridor from which he calm, striding down the hall, his black cloak billowing dramatically behind him.

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Minerva McGonagall was in a bit of situation. It had been three years since the war had ended and she had been taking on both the duties of Headmistress and those of the Transfiguration's Professor. To put it simply, she was exhausted.

It wasn't that she hadn't been looking for a replacement for the position, no. It was that up until this point, she hadn't found a competent enough candidate for the position.

That is until that morning, when her favorite former student showed up at the door of her private room, a nervous but determined look upon her face.

Minerva had been busy grading abysmal transfiguration essays when the knock had sounded at her door and had been quite surprised to open it to the clever Miss Granger.

"What can I do for you my dear child?" She asked in astonishment, after Miss Granger had greeted her. Hermione smiled back at her and asked if she could have a few minutes of her time.

Minerva stepped back and extended her arm out, offering the young witch and invitation to come inside and make herself comfortable.

Maybe, Minerva thought as she followed the witch back into her private chamber, maybe this would be the break that she so desperately needed.

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Severus awoke the next morning early, determined to drag himself down to the Great Hall for a spot of silent breakfast. He relished the mornings where he got up before the dastardly students, for he was finally able to enjoy a silent, calm, and quite meal.

Dressing quickly, he left his rooms with a snap of his cloak, strutting down the Hogwarts Halls as if he had made them himself.

He arrived at the Great Hall without site of student or colleague and blew out a breath of relief, pushing the doors open. He strode to the impressive table at the front and took his customary seat, ignorant of the young witch seated next to him, staring at him with obvious hunger in her eyes.

Severus calmly piled eggs and potatoes onto his plate, poured himself a cup of coffee, and began to eat, still oblivious to the presence of his former student.

"Good Morning Professor," the student finally spoke and Severus jumped, his fork clattering back to his plate and echoing around the nearly empty Hall. He looked to his left and if it weren't for his spy reflexes he would have spat out the eggs in his mouth.

For there, seated to his left, was Hermione Granger, the blasted student who had saved his life a mere three years ago and if he be damned, she was looking at him with the most peculiar expression.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Hello all,**

**Thank you again for all of you who have added this story to their alerts. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Severus took a minute to compose himself and made sure that no egg was attached to his lips. He whipped the back of his hand across his face and straightened his posture, pasting a sneer onto his face and turning towards the witch.

"Miss Granger," he sneered in her direction, "To what do I owe the….pleasure."

He watched as the girl wonder of the Golden Trio beamed at him, her eyes twinkling merrily, reminding him of Dumbledore in a way that was both alarming and unsettling. He eyed her warily before cautiously taking another bite of his breakfast.

The girl was up to something, and what in Merlin's name was she smiling like that at him for?

"Professor," the insane Gryffindor finally greeted, "It's nice to see you this morning."

Nice?…to see him? What in the world was Miss Granger talking about? He decided the best approach to the situation was to ignore the girl and try to enjoy the rest of his breakfast in a peaceful manner.

He turned back to his plate and concentrated on breakfast, determined to ignore Hermione Granger.

"Professor," she began again and Severus repressed the urge to sigh dramatically. Granger had gone around the table and was now seated to his right, looking at him again with that asinine smile.

"Yes Miss Granger," he said, fixing her with his best Slytherin sneer.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard the good news. I'm excited to start, but frankly I'm nervous. I know that you were about my age when you started teaching here….I was just wondering if you could perhaps give me some tips. I mean I'd really appreciate it sir, I really want to be respected as a Professor," Granger trailed off, looking at him expectantly.

Severus stared at his former student, trying to fathom the inane rambling he was just subject to listen to. Professor…teach..Surely Minerva didn't…

"Professor Snape?" Granger was starting to fidget, waiting for his answer.

"Good Morning Professors," Minerva McGonagall said as she strode up to the table. She took the seat that Granger occupied before she had switched and looked over at the two.

"Headmistress," Severus ground out, "Tell me that Granger has gone delusional and you haven't hired her to teach." The words flew from his mouth like venom and he was annoyed by the amused glint in Minerva's eyes.

She calmly loaded her plate with sausage and eggs before responding.

"Yes Severus," she finally said, "You knew the Transfiguration position was tiring me and Miss Granger here so graciously offered her assistance. With grades like hers I simply couldn't pass. She's much more qualified than any of the ninny's I've interviewed so far."

Severus growled in response and watched as Granger blushed under her former Head of House' praise.

"To answer your question Granger-"

"Severus, as Deputy Headmaster, would love to give you a Professor's tour of Hogwarts Miss Granger before classes start," Minerva was addressing Hermione now, ignoring Severus' dark glances.

Granger's face lit up like Christmas and Severus tried to ignore the weird whooping feeling in his stomach.

"Hurry with breakfast Granger, I have a lot to show you," Severus said before standing from his chair, nodding to Minerva and sweeping out of the Great Hall.

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Hermione turned towards Headmistresses McGonagall, a delighted smile plastered to her face.

"How'd I do?" she asked the older woman. A motherly smile appeared on Minerva's face and she reached out a hand to pat Hermione on the shoulder.

"I'd say Severus doesn't know what's going to hit him."

Hermione giggled and the older Gryffindor woman joined her, their voices echoing around the silent Hall.

"I have to admit Miss Granger," Minerva paused in her laughter, "I was quite surprised by your letter, but that's not to say that I'm not pleased. Severus needs someone like you."

Hermione beamed at McGonagall and rose from the table to find the surly man.

"Professor," Hermione called as she entered the dungeons. The cold air surrounding her was doing nothing for her nerves. She couldn't mess this up; there were so many things that could go wrong.

She arrived at Severus' door and knocked three times, holding her breath as she waited for the man to answer. He swung the door open and towered over her, sneering at her with malice.

"Let's get this over with," his silky voice poured over her, alerting her senses and putting her on edge. She could only trust herself to nod. Severus Snape pushed past her and moved down the corridor, it was a moment before Hermione realized he had gone and then hurried down the hall after him.

"You can't let the students get the better of you," Snape finally bit out when she had caught up with him. He looked down at her to make sure that she was listening.

"If you want them to respect you, you have to be somebody that can be respected. Don't let them off easy if they mess around, make sure that they pay attention to your lessons and that they know you are serious about your teachings," Severus said as he hung a left.

Students were milling about in the halls before classes started as Hermione and Professor Snape patrolled. She was surprised by the amount of advice he was willing to give away and the almost civility in which it was done.

Hermione was smart enough to know that if Severus Snape was willingly participating in a conversation, she'd do good to remember his every word.

However, fate was a fickle friend and just as Severus had gotten to the most efficient way to hand out detentions, a fight broke out in the middle of the corridor.

"SHUT UP HANSEN," A red faced student roared, brandishing his wand like a sword in front of him. Hermione and Professor Snape sprinted down the hall, attempting to stop the duel before it got out of hand. Students were gathered around the two wizards, watching their potions Professor and the war heroine sprint towards the action in feverish manners.

Professor Snape arrived a second too late however, for the first curse had left a wand, bounced off the stone walls, and sped towards Hermione Granger. She squeaked out in surprise as a bright purple light shot into her chest before bursting into a fiery orange ball and taking Hermione Granger with it.

Silence rang throughout the corridor and the dueling students turned towards their furious Professor, their hearts hammering in their chests at the look in his eyes.

"Go. Get. Professor McGonagall….NOW" Severus bellowed, ignoring the sheer panic that ran through his body and the implications of what that panic could possibly mean.

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Hermione Granger was getting sick of spinning around. She had been spinning for a good five minutes ,ever since that stupid blasted purple light had hit her square in the chest. The room had turned pitch black and she could hear various voices floating through the air, different snippets of conversation she was suddenly a part of.

She wondered for a brief moment whether not she had died, but the pain in her chest was logical proof that she was very much alive.

The spinning stopped abruptly when Hermione landed with a crash in the corridor, now empty for some reason. She winced as she lay sprawled in the middle of the hall, her hands clasped together over her chest, trying to slow her breathing.

Where had everyone gone?

After a few minutes of trying to calm down, Hermione sat up and brushed herself off. Little pieces of debris covered her black robes. She shakily rose to her feet and looked around.

The corridor looked…different somehow, newer. The sun wasn't as bright as it had been a mere ten minutes ago. Professor Snape was nowhere to be found and the dueling students had vanished.

How long had she been laying there? Surely Professor Snape would have alerted Minerva and they would have brought her to the hospital.

Hermione started towards the end of the corridor, heading to what she knew was the entrance to the Headmistress' office. She paused in front of the stone gargoyles and watched them with a severe eye.

They looked as they had before the final battle. Odd, Hermione thought, maybe Minerva had them repaired as a source of comfort, but Hermione could have sworn that they were different statues just a few hours ago…

Hermione stepped up to the familiar gargoyles and hurriedly said the password 'Animagus'. The stone statues moved not an inch.

Hermione guessed a few more passwords off the top of her head, wondering if perhaps the curse that had hit her had caused her memory to be fuzzy.

After several minutes of fruitless guesses Hermione groaned and started to beg the stone.

"Please," she said, desperate to not let any tears of frustration fall down her cheeks, "I've just been hit with a curse and I really don't know what's going on. My chest hurts, this is my first day on the job, and I really need to speak with—

The gargoyles sprang apart and the staircase to the Headmistress's office appeared. Hermione blurted thanks before taking the stairs two at a time. She reached McGonagall's door and knocked three times.

"Come in," said a vaguely familiar voice that Hermione knew didn't belong to Minerva. She wondered who would be in her office, allowing guests to 'come in'. If Hermione wasn't starting to feel panicked she would have corrected the visitor.

She pushed open the door and stepped in, already speaking.

"I'm sorry Headmistress, I seemed to have run into trouble this morning. Two students were dueling and Professor Snape was trying to explain to me how I should—"

Here Hermione paused, because instead of the matronly woman Hermione had come to expect in these offices, stood a rather young Albus Dumbledore and an extremely young Severus Snape, both looking at her in confusion and wonder.

Once again Hermione experienced the weird sensation of the breath leaving her body and she could do nothing but stare at the dearly departed Dumbledore. Tears sprang to her eyes and she was forced to remember just how much she had missed Professor Dumbledore. She reached out a hand towards Dumbledore, wanting to touch him just to make sure that she wasn't seeing things, but the odd situation gave her pause.

The only one ready to speak was Severus Snape, who was eyeing Hermione now in suspicion. Hermione was too occupied staring at Professor Dumbledore to even take in Severus Snape's appearance. If she had, however, she would have been forced to admit that the young Severus Snape was even more delicious than his future counterpart. This revelation would have reinforced her mission and she would conclude that even in a different time, Severus Snape would at least become a good friend.

"Professor Snape?" He spat, turning to look at Albus Dumbledore and back to Hermione.

And here, Hermione's poor heart could take no more and she fainted dead away oblivious to the alarm that now presented itself on the faces of both men.

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	4. Chapter 4

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The girl who had pushed through the headmaster's door was now lying on the floor, her eyes closed in an almost peaceful way, and her light breaths leaving her body, making it look as if she was only sleeping.

Professor Dumbledore rose majestically from his chair and hurried over to the girl, bending down with surprising agility for someone his age. He checked the pulse in her wrist and looked over to Severus.

"Mr. Snape," he said with an air of authority, "We will have to discuss this matter later, however I need you to return to your common room now."

Severus almost put in the effort to protest, but knew after years of coming to Dumbledore for a solution, he was better off leaving the old prat to his ways. There was no solution for him, there would never be a solution for him. The wizarding world praised the odd Headmaster in every way but Severus saw the worst of him.

Severus saw the prejudice that flowed from his twinkling blue eyes, Severus experienced the unjust decisions that man made based on House relations. He knew that Dumbledore was fallible, that Dumbledore wasn't all that he was cracked up to be.

He would always remember his first encounter with this revelation, a particular conversation that came about after Severus had showed up in the Headmaster's office, supporting a nasty black eye.

"Mr. Snape," Dumbledore had greeted then, looking at him over crossed fingers. His eyes had raked the young teen's face, taking in the tear tracks the boy had erased and the blossoming bruise forming around his left eye.

Severus had been reluctant to visit the Headmaster in the first place, only the hope that maybe this bullying would stop had even given him the encouragement to seek the Professor's help. He could put up a fight like any other competent Slytherin, but four to one were odds that even Severus Snape couldn't turn in his favor.

He had explained the situation to the Headmaster, relieved that at least this time it wasn't he who had provoked the four Gryffindors. Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew had found Severus in an empty corridor shortly after he had met up with Lily for one of their in depth conversations.

Severus had been happy, he hadn't had an opportune chance to speak with Lily in a while and he was always glad when she would bestow her presence onto him, if even for a little while. This happiness, he supposed, is what shielded his normally acute sense from the presence of the Marauders.

Black had started in on Severus' appearance, his lank hair and his cheap clothes. Potter had joined him with hexes that were easy enough to dodge until Pettigrew and Black decided to help. Lupin had stood by as usual, his face looking a little reluctant but doing nothing to prevent the three from picking on Severus.

It was Black who had decked him in the eye, and then in the stomach. Potter followed up this brave display with a well placed jinx and the four had left him in the corridor alone and in pain. When Severus finally found the strength to stand it was then he vowed to seek the Headmaster's help.

Fat lot of good that did him, he snorted as he made his way down the winding staircase. Dumbledore had more or less told him that the actions of the four Gryffindor were in jest, and that he should learn to lighten up a little bit.

And now, here he was two years later no longer begging Dumbledore for help but warning him of his actions should the Marauders seek Severus out again. It was a subtle warning, an idea of Tom Riddle's, and for a few seconds it had made Severus feel good to see the regret shine in the old man's eyes.

The power was intoxicating sometimes, but if Severus were honest with himself, most of Tom Riddle's methods didn't sit easy with him. However, who was he to complain when Tom Riddle was one of few people who truly accepted him for who he was?

Lily had, once upon a time, but she was never able to see past her Gryffindor prejudice and ultimately that had led to the demise of their friendship. In large part, Severus knew it was his doing, but he couldn't help but be bitter that the witch he had grown up with would no longer acknowledge his presence.

Severus scoffed and kicked at an invisible object with his shoe. Dumbledore had ignored him in the end though, for the sake of a crazy girl who had referred to Severus as 'Professor' and Dumbledore as 'Headmistress'.

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When Hermione came to she was looking into a much younger face of Madame Pomfrey. The younger medi-witch was looking worriedly down upon her, her brow creased in the familiar expression Hermione had come to expect from the woman.

"Headmaster," Pomfrey said, "She looks to be just fine."

Dumbledore stepped forward to assess the situation himself, noting with pleasure that the girl was indeed awake and looking up at them with fear.

"Hello Miss…"

"Granger."

"Hello Miss Granger. I believe that we are both at a point of confusion. Maybe you could shed some light upon this strange situation we find ourselves in," Dumbledore conjured a chair and placed it next to the young woman's bed, sinking into the comforting and forgivable seat.

Hermione looked wildly around before settling her eyes back to Dumbledore. She didn't even know how to begin as she wasn't sure how a curse of a fourth year student managed to send her so far back in time.

Would Dumbledore even believe her?

"My dear," Dumbledore finally spoke after several minutes of silence, "Please do not be frightened. I have come to the conclusion that we have a very unique situation on our hands. I only need your help in deciding what exactly this situation pertains."

Hermione nodded after Dumbledore's words, remembering many times before where the caring Headmaster had been able to calm her down in cases of emergencies. She cleared her voice and sat up a bit so that she could look at him properly.

"Well, Sir, I'm not exactly sure how to say this…however I guess it would just be easiest to tell you that I don't belong here, in this time that is," Hermione spoke carefully, eyeing the powerful wizard for signs of reactions. Dumbledore seemed lost in thought and stroke his beard, long but not quite as long as in her days of Hogwarts, thoughtfully.

"Not your time Miss Granger? Is it safe to assume that you have experienced some sort of accident that has led you to us?"

Hermione nodded her head and twisted her fingers.

"I assume that you are no longer a student in your time."

"No Sir. I was actually beginning my first day of classes. A fellow Professor was…showing me the ropes to say," Hermione sighed, thinking of her plan for the first time since she gotten into this mess. It was funny how things never seemed to go according to plan.

"Well, we can't place you in a teaching position at this point Miss Granger. We need to find a solution to your time paradox and you need a place to stay," Dumbledore was speaking to her but she was only half listening, debating with herself whether or not she should tell Dumbledore the reason for her newly acquired teaching position.

Dumbledore was always an advocate for love, was he not?

"…I think it best you pose as a seventh year student Miss Granger, would this suffice for you?"

With a start Hermione realized that Dumbledore had quit talking and was waiting for a response from her. Slowly his words started to sink in and Hermione quickly realized what he had just asked of her. Pose as a seventh year student? With Snape, Lily, and the Marauders as her peers?

"Sir, I feel I have a lot more to tell you on this matter before we make rash decisions," Hermione began. Dumbledore held up a hand and Hermione stopped speaking.

"It is, I think, of great importance that one do not share the secrets of the future. I'm sure my future self would not be happy to think that you have spilled the events of your time."

Tears sprang in Hermione's eyes. The future Dumbledore had died a hero of the war, but just the same, she knew that she had to keep as much to herself as possible. She nodded again at the Headmaster's words.

Dumbledore stood from his chair and clapped his hands together.

"You'll need a convincing story my dear. Now, what house were you in?"

"Gryffindor."

Dumbledore's eyes lit up.

"Ah yes, fair Gryffindor. You are a transfer student from the Salem Witch's Institute in America who decided to pursue a more prestigious education here at Hogwarts."

Dumbledore winked at her and Hermione giggled, allowing herself to bask in his presence if for only a little while.

"You will go into your same house, you'll keep your same name. Will that due?"

Hermione agreed and Dumbledore smiled down at her. He extended a hand and Hermione took it. With surprising strength Dumbledore pulled Hermione from the hospital bed.

"I trust you can find your way to the Gryffindor Tower Miss Granger?"

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Hermione was reluctant to meet her 'new' fellow Gryffindors. To be honest, she had been quite happy when school had been completed. She had never quite been comfortable with the social aspects of the Hogwarts education.

Sure, she had Ron and Harry, but it had been hard for her and she was sure, knowing a few of these people's future, it would be even harder now.

Hermione blurted the password to the Fat Lady and stepped nervously through the portrait after it swung open. Time couldn't change the common room, as it was as bustling as it had ever been.

Chattering students were littered across chairs, playing wizard's chess, talking and studying in corners. Hermione waited meekly by the entrance for someone to notice her, as she was sure there would be uproar of sorts.

It didn't take long before she was face to face with a much younger, arrogant looking Sirius Black approached the young witch. The common room had gone quite and watched the popular student approach the new student.

"Who are you?" Sirius asked and Hermione was a bit surprised by the small amount of venom she could detect in his voice. She knew Sirius in the future, she would not let his past self get the better of her.

Hermione stepped forward, straightened her new school robes (courtesy of the Headmaster), raised her chin and spoke with confidence.

"I'm Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you."

It was hours later that Hermione was shown to the seventh year rooms by a small, mousy Gryffindor girl. Her initial welcome had gone a lot better than she expected it but Hermione had yet much chance to interact with Harry's parents, and she knew that Lily would be sharing a room with her. She saw the girl who would grow to become her best friend's mother while she had been explaining her 'past', however the girl had never approached her to introduce herself.

Here was her chance though, Hermione thought, as she stepped into the seventh year dorms.

"Your bed is here," the small girl, Laura she thought, squeaked. Hermione smiled at her in welcome and turned to Lily Evans, who was seated on the bed next to Hermione's watching her suspiciously.

Hermione stepped towards the girl and extender her hand.

"Hello, Hermione Granger," she said politely. Lily looked at her hand as if it was diseased and mumbled a low and inaudible, 'Lo'.

Hermione wasn't sure what to make of this introduction and instead turned towards her bed, surprised at a trunk that was waiting for her, the work of Dumbledore.

"So, from America huh?" One of the other girls inquired excitedly. Hermione turned towards her to respond and was rather surprised to see that Lily was glaring at the girl and she looked rather sheepish.

"Umm yeah," Hermione finally murmured.

"Well isn't that just great," Lily commented, a fake smile plastered onto her face. The room was thick with tension and the rest of the girls were fidgeting restlessly, watching Lily.

To say that Hermione was confused was an understatement. She wasn't sure why she was receiving the girl's animosity. It was possible that Lily Evans was just in a bad mood, but Hermione had a bad feeling that maybe Lily wasn't the saint that everyone had made her out to be.

Hermione wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing however, and being three years older than the girls in this seventh year dorm, she wasn't going to be intimidated either.

"I'm sorry," Hermione began, "Have I done something to offend you?"

Lily snorted and turned away from her, pulling out a book from an expensive looking bag. Laura was watching Lily with anger in her eyes and seconds later surprised Hermione.

"Who are you, to come waltzing in here two months after our seventh year has started and take over the common room like that. 'I'm Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you,'" Lily mocked in a high falsetto, spurring giggles from everyone in the room but Laura and Hermione.

Hermione didn't understand…this girl was to become Lily Potter? This girl was Harry's mother?

"I don't really like girls who think they can take what the rest of us Gryffindor girls have worked so hard at getting. I don't really like the way you eyed Sirius and James in the common room," Lily had stepped closer now and had a finger pointed in Hermione's face.

She was bat shit insane, Hermione concluded, seeing the genuine hatred in the girl's eyes. This couldn't possibly be the same Lily Evans that everyone in her time spoke so highly of. The same Lily Evans that Severus Snape had fallen in love with.

"I don't even know who those people are," Hermione finally said, in defense of herself. It wasn't technically true, but if she had truly been a transfer student it would have been more than reasonable.

Lily scoffed and turned away from her.

"Right, Come on Mary, Annie, let's go to dinner." And with that Lily and two other girls swept out of the room.

Laura blew out a sigh and sat on her own bed, offering Hermione a small smile.

"She's a piece of work isn't she? Lily Evans? It's a good thing she has her own rooms now," Laura said. Hermione looked to the bed that she had mistaken as Lily's and noticed it looked as unused as hers did at the moment. Of course, Lily Evans was Head Girl.

"Yeah," Hermione said, "I don't really understand what her problem is."

Laura snorted and raised an eyebrow at her, it seemed Hermione had misjudged the small girl, she sure had a lot of life in her.

"Yeah well, Lily Evans is one of those 'saintly' types that gets away with everything. Boys drool over her, Professors boast about her, she's good at faking and no one can ever catch Evans doing wrong. She's your typical mean girl."

"Really?" Hermione asked in surprise. What about her friendship with Snape? As Hermione had understood it from Harry, Snape wasn't popular at all. What did a mean girl have to gain from befriending him?

Laura nodded and offered an arm.

"Come on, I'll take you to dinner."

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Hermione was quickly beginning to learn that the name Gryffindor didn't mean exactly what it did in her time. Or maybe things had been the same and she had been too concerned with other things to notice. What she did know now is that most of the lot were not nice people.

They scoffed at Hermione when she tripped in her nervousness in the Great Hall. After the initial excitement in the common room, no one but Laura bothered to talk to the new girl or even notice her presence. They gossiped about others from different houses and bragged about their own house.

It almost made her sick, this picture of Gryffindor. She was beginning to understand, a little bit, the hatred that Slytherin felt concerning the 'brave' house.

After dinner, Hermione bade Laura goodbye and wondered the halls of Hogwarts alone, telling the mousy girl that she would need to know her way around the next day. Laura offered her help but Hermione politely refused as she knew the girl had other things to be doing.

While wondering halls that weren't supposed to be so familiar to her Hermione thought over the last couple hours. Here she was nearing 21 years of age, stuck in the past, because of a 'brilliant' plan she had concocted to win over Severus Snape?

What had her life become?

Speak of the devil, Hermione thought, as a young Severus Snape hurried her way. It was the first time she had been able to really see him, since the office incident, and it was the first time that she took in the differences between a young, possibly less troubled Severus, and the Severus Snape of her time.

He was tall and lean, but muscular in his own unique way. His hair was still long, and a bit greasy, but it had a more cared for look than it did in her time. Snape hadn't noticed her yet and she was able to ogle his lips, something about him that had always excited her, but they looked much more kissable now.

Plus, as she knew from Harry's old potions text, the teenaged Severus was bloody brilliant and who was she to pass up intelligence?

Snape had finally noticed her and his eyes narrowed. He stopped several feet in front of her and stared for a moment.

"You would be sorted into Gryffindor," he finally said and started to walk again.

Hermione scoffed and turned her head, the name of her house bringing up the angry feelings she felt at dinner. This, however, made Severus stop in his tracks and turn back towards her.

"Don't like Gryffindor?" He asked cautiously, watching the girl. Hermione looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"They aren't the nicest bunch," she finally replied, noticing that at her words the hard look in his eyes lessened quite a bit.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers and observed her silently. Hermione was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable when he finally spoke.

"Yeah, I've noticed."

Hermione knew, again from Harry, the way Snape had been treated in school and this served to fuel the anger that was already coursing through her veins.

"It's ridiculous. They are so bloody arrogant and rude. I mean they don't even know me and they aren't even willing to give me a chance. ONE GIRL! One girl was willing to be nice to me. It's so….UGH" Hermione burst out suddenly, waving her arms above her, oblivious to the slow smile that was spreading across Severus' face.

"Finally," he breathed, once she took a pause, "Someone who see's past the 'bravery' and 'nobility'."

Hermione nodded at Severus statement and stuck out her hand in greeting.

"Hermione Granger."

Snape looked down at her hand and offered a tentative smile.

"Severus Snape," He grabbed Hermione's hand in his own and shook.

Hermione thrilled at the power she felt from just his handshake. She beamed at him, maybe while she was stuck in this time, her plan could get a bit of practice.

**So I've given you two chapters in one day...want more? REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW : ) **

**Send me your suggestions...**

**and of course I have a question to ask all of you?**

**What would be the first thing you'd do, if you could do anything, to Severus?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you everyone for your great reviews and suggestions, they really made my night.**

**Here is the next installment, enjoy : )**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Hermione Granger woke up rather early that morning. She hadn't been able to sleep very well, that startling realizations she had concerning Gryffindor had kept her up for a good while. Now she wondered whether in her time, during her school years, others had perceived her house as she had now.

Was Gryffindor stuck up? Hermione examined what she knew of her own houses and the actions of her fellow Gryffindor peers during her years at Hogwarts.

The Gryffindor House had been unfaltering loyal to Harry, Ron, and herself during the times of Voldemort. They had stuck by their side in Dumbledore's Army, they had defended the honor of the Golden Trio while they had been out searching for horcruxes. They had been nice, hadn't they?

'What about the other times?' the voice inside her spoke. Hermione paused as she pulled a t-shirt over her head. Other times?

'Yes you know, the times when Harry wasn't making a good name for himself in the Prophet? The times when no one else believed him? The times when he wasn't popular?' The voice seethed.

Her arms fell to her sides and Hermione stared off in the distance. Of course, she had never thought about it before. The students of Gryffindor were never too kind when Harry wasn't the hero. What about Seamus, who ignored Harry for almost an entire year because of the things that Daily Prophet had been printing?

Maybe, Hermione thought rather sadly, maybe there was a reason that students from Slytherin acted they way they did. Maybe there was a way to incorporate all houses together, as the sorting hat had been signing about since she could remember.

Maybe, if there hadn't been this rivalry between houses, maybe there would have never been a war.

Hermione finished dressing and left her dorm quietly, careful not to wake the other students sleeping soundly. She walked down the stairs to the common room, debating whether or not she wanted to head to breakfast now or take a look at the books Dumbledore had provided to analyze the changes in the course work.

Lost in her own thoughts, Hermione was oblivious to Lily Evans, who was seated in front of the fire fixing her with a cold stare. It wasn't until Evans had moved that Hermione noticed the presence of the girl in front of her.

"Oh," Hermione said, startled by her presence and the fierce stare the girl still had fixed on her. The two stared at each other for a moment before Hermione disappeared through the entrance.

It was heartbreaking really, this new side of Gryffindor.

Hermione was seated at her House's table in the Great Hall, her goblet filled with pumpkin juice, her plate with toast and jam. Her mind was filled with thoughts, memories, and experiences. It was rather like the time her parents had sat her down, when she was about seven, and explained that Santa Claus hadn't existed.

Gryffindor was built on a lie, built on the same corrupt 'morals' that the Ministry of Magic in her time was built upon. Politics and publicity and popularity. Was there nothing that was truly real?

On and on. Hermione sighed, thunking her head down onto the table, glad that there wasn't a great amount of people enjoying their breakfast at the moment.

The brunette Gryffindor kept brought her arms around her head, a protection of sorts, and tried to pretend that she was caught in a very vivid, bad dream. She didn't notice the presence of her favorite Slytherin until he had put a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright?" The voice was gruff, probably from sleep. Hermione rose up from the table and turned towards Severus Snape. He wasn't as good at covering his emotions, she realized, as his future counterpart. In fact, she could read him quite easily, the Slytherin boy actually looked concerned.

Hermione sighed aloud and realized that Snape was waiting for an answer from her.

"I will be," she said, "I'm just…missing my old school." Hermione stood from the table and offered Snape a weak smile before heading to the door.

Once outside the Great Hall, Hermione headed towards the first class of the day, Transfiguration, excited to see a familiar and hopefully friendly face in the Professor.

She waited a good half hour before other students began to line up for class behind her. She ignored their curious stares, ignored the cold shoulder from her fellow Gryffindor peers, and waited patiently for Professor McGonagall.

Finally, a much younger version of the woman she was used to, pushed open the door and ushered the students into the classroom with the same stern expression Hermione remembered from her school days.

Hermione allowed herself a small smile and filed first into the classroom. She took a seat near the front of the classroom, ignoring the other students around her.

Professor McGonagall smiled briefly down at her before beginning her lesson. With a sigh of relief Hermione copied McGonagall's every word. This she could do, this was familiar territory, and this is what she excelled at.

"Now, class, who can tell me what the proper wand movements are?"

With a beaming smile, Hermione raised her hand.

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The girl was pretty smart, Severus thought as he watched her answer yet another of Professor McGonagall's questions. She had already earned the blasted Gryffindor house ten points and he noticed that her housemates seemed to at least be finally paying her some attention.

His eyes fell on Lily Evans, beautiful Lily, his Lily. Again that feeling of guilt and shame swelled hot in his stomach and he was forced to look away from her. If he only he hadn't let his anger get the better of him.

If he only he had learned to keep his stupid mouth shut, maybe they'd still be friends, maybe he wouldn't be so alone.

He watched as the red headed beauty placed an arm on James Potter, giggling at something he had said, not paying any attention to McGonagall or the current lesson. The shame fell away and instantly turned into bitter jealousy.

Maybe if she had seen the real James Potter.

"Mr. Snape, in what circumstances is transfiguration regulated?"

Severus snapped his attention forward and answered McGonagall's question, earning only 3 points for Slytherin. He snorted to himself and put his head down, figures.

A sharp pain at the back of his head made him start, he looked around the room and met the eye of Sirius Black, who was smirking at him.

"Hello Snivellus," he mouthed, crunching his fingers at him. Severus growled and tried to ignore Black. McGonagall had just dismissed them to start their practice work.

Severus raised his wand and before he could mutter the incantation it flew out of his hands. He sighed.

"Looking for this Snivelly?" Sirius was standing before his desk, holding his wand captured.

"Give it back," Severus ground out, trying not to attract the attention of his classmates. A few snickers echoed around the room and he squeezed his eyes shut.

'Don't react.' He told himself, trying to breathe through his nose, trying to calm himself. He could just sit here and wait until McGonagall noticed there was trouble, she'd right things.

Something flicked his ear and his eyes flew open.

"I said," Black punctuated this with a flick to the side of his head, "Are you looking for this Snivellus?" His own wand hit the side of his head again and flew back into Black's hands.

Severus shut his eyes again.

"What the— Hey!"

"Here Severus," said a soft feminine voice, laced with anger. Severus opened his eyes and Hermione Granger held out his wand. He plucked it out of her hands, ignoring the blush that spread to his cheek.

The room was silent for a minute or two and then-

"Oooohhh," Black crooned, twirling a curl of Hermione's in his finger. Lily Evans and James Potter stood behind Black. Lily was smirking cruelly in Severus's direction, one of her perfect eyebrows raised in humor, her frame shaking with silent laughter.

Lily, his friend Lily, the girl he loved. The only friend that Hogwarts had provided with him, was now staring at him with cruel amusement.

Severus wasn't prepared for the amount of pain her laughter was bringing him. The regret that ate at his conscience burned in full flames, this was pay back after all. Pay back for what he had called her, pay back for pain he was sure she had felt too.

"Snivelly Snape has a new girlfriend." Giggles broke out in full roar now and Hermione turned bright red. Severus snapped out of his seat, his wand pointed in between Black's eyes.

"Severus Snape!" McGonagall's voice rang out and silence fell upon the classroom.

"Remove your wand from his eyes immediately!" Severus sighed and lowered the wand, knowing that she was going to assign him detention next.

"Professor," Hermione Granger raised her hand, "Please, Sirius was provoking him. He took his wand and was flicking him with it…"

Professor McGonagall turned towards the girl and raised an eyebrow, Hermione fell silent upon the stern look.

"Is this so Mr. Snape?"

Severus shook his head in agreement and at the same time every Gryffindor began to protest. The Slytherin students ignored the drama, Severus didn't fit in with them either.

"The new girl is just mad at Lily!"

"Sirius wouldn't do that."

Professor McGonagall sighed and raised a hand to her temple.

"Mr. Snape, detention at 7pm."

And then Lily Evans laughed louder that all, pointing at him when Professor McGonagall had turned his back.

His blood turned to ice.

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Hermione caught up with Snape once class let out, slightly out of breath as she kept in step with his long strides.

"I'm so sorry," she said once she was in hearing distance. Snape shrugged and continued walking briskly down the hall. She noticed with a start that many students had stopped what they were doing to whisper or giggle as they walked by.

Honestly, Hermione was exasperated already. This is why she was glad to be done with school and her she was, repeating her seventh year in a different time where the name Godric Gryffindor meant several different things; things she wasn't sure she wanted any part of.

"It's normal," Snape said, his voice quiet, Hermione had almost not heard him. She was glad that he was in front of her because she was pretty sure he wouldn't appreciate the pity on her face.

She didn't mean to pity him, she respected Severus Snape more than almost anybody she knew, but the type of cruelty she had experienced had plagued him his entire time at Hogwarts. It was a wonder he even found his way back to the right side of war in the first place.

How different would things have been for Severus Snape if he had a friend at Hogwarts, a true friend? Hermione pondered her own question, oblivious to the fact that she was still following Snape and that the corridor began to empty.

If only someone had reached out to the boy before, had taken the chance to know him, maybe he wouldn't have felt the need to turn towards the power and carefully disguised "respect" that Voldemort offered Snape.

Hermione ran into Snape and crashed to the floor. The few remaining students began to openly laugh. Without a pause in movement, Snape turned around and offered Hermione a hand. She accepted and he pulled her up and began walking down the hall again.

"W-wait!" Hermione called when she got her bearings back.

"Wait," she said again, running down the hall to catch up to him before he turned the corner. She rounded the corner and almost ran into him again, except this time he was facing her, arms crossed, and looking expectant.

"Yes?" He drawled, and for a second Hermione was reminded of his older self, the sexy, silky voice that had held her captivated so many times.

She realized she was close to drooling at this point and she snapped her mouth shut.

"I was… I was wondering if you wanted to meet me later…in the library? To start homework…" Hermione trailed off, feeling nervous all of the sudden. Did the teenage Snape even need to study?

"Yes, I'll be there after detention," Snape said calmly. Hermione smiled tentatively at him and he returned the smile. Ye gods his smile was something she could get used to seeing.

"By the way, thanks."

Hermione's smile brightened, yet another thing that the future Snape would never do.

"You're welcome."

**Please review and let me know what you think. And, as always, I'd love to hear more of your suggestions. **

**And I'd looove to know what house would you be sorted into...and why?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello all,**

**Thanks again for the great reviews. I love reading them. J_ust a fair warning, from this chapter on this story will be entering a more adult realm of fiction_, filled with smutty images and delicious Severus.**

**You have been warned...however, if this is your cup of tea, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

She was laughing, clutching her stomach and rolling around giggling in glee. Tears were beginning to gather at the corners of her eyes and as she gasped for air. After a few minutes she caught her breath and sat up, looking at the boy opposite her with a silly grin on her face.

"You're bad," she finally muttered, getting up and settling back into her seat and the newest assignment for Charms. Severus Snape smirked at her in return and wiggled his eyebrows, earning a few more giggles from her.

"Well it's true," he finally drawled, "Didn't you see the look on Slughorn's face when we produced a better potion than the one he was using as an example. The man is a nitwit."

Hermione laughed again and reached over to swat him.

"_Professor _Slughorn," she said with a smile.

It had been weeks since she had found herself trapped in time and she was surprised at how fast it seemed to go by. She still hadn't found any friends in her own house, but the friendship between her and her future potions Professor grew at an alarming rate.

She was able to spend hours in the library with him, discussing theories and notes they had taken in class, ridiculing the latest lectures or researching ways in which a spell could be better utilized. He made her laugh, made her feel comfortable and she never had to tone down her bookish ways. She had never been this comfortable around anyone, never had been so much…herself. Even Ron and Harry became exasperated with her studious manner.

Plus Severus Snape never tried to initiate a conversation about Quidditch with her. He was the only good part of this bizarre past she was trapped in, the only thing that grounded her. She knew, however, that Severus was still in love with Lily, still affected by the actions that made up most of his academic career at Hogwarts.

She knew and she understood, things would take time and time seemed to be what she had. She wasn't sure if Severus even trusted her at this point, but she took great pleasure in watching the walls he had so carefully constructed fall apart.

The other day he told her a little bit about his mother, about what she was like and how she had treated him. He spoke in a detached voice, void of emotion, a mere silhouette of what he would become in the future. Still, she recognized it for what it was, a sign that at least a little bit, he trusted her. It was something she felt was precious, something she knew very little people had access too.

"What's on your mind," his silky voice interrupted her thoughts, bringing her from her reverie. She smiled at him and shook her head, gesturing towards the books lying open before them.

"What do you think about Gearmen's theory concerning the cheering charm?" Hermione asked instead, watching the slow smile spreading across her face.

"Complete rubbish," he said, smirking at her, making her heart thump inside of her chest and the thoughts in her brain scatter like pidgeons. He was so…different and that's what she liked most about him.

"Isn't this quaint," a voice sneered to their left. Hermione and Severus turned at the same time to see Lily Evans standing near the table, Sirius Black and James Potter flanked on her left and right. Severus clearly blanched and looked down at the homework they had been previously working on, all traces of a smile gone, all light in his eyes distinguished.

Anger flared in Hermione and she turned her attention to her housemates.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. Lily Evans raised an eyebrow at her and put her hand, which Hermione noticed for the first time was perfectly manicured, on her hip.

"What are you doing Granger? Do you think that spending time with Snape will raise your grades? Do you think that he will let you copy off his tests? It doesn't work, believe me," Lily spat the words like acid and Hermione watched as each one hit Severus, making him retreat further and further into his shell.

This girl was not going to ruin the hard work that Hermione had put into getting to know the Slytherin and she did not just suggest that she would need to cheat in order to get good grades.

Hermione stood up and pushed away from her seat, coming within inches of Lily Evan's perfect evil face. Her hands were shaking with anger and it was everything she could do not to withdraw her wand, take a leaf out of Ginny Weasley's book, and fix the girl with a Bat Boogey Hex.

Instead she lowered her voice to a dangerous level and spoke in a whisper.

"I don't care what the professors or the other students think about you Lily Evans. I can see beneath your perfect exterior you've built and you know what? You're an ugly person, through and through. You should be ashamed of the way you're portraying the house of Gryffindor."

Lily Evans whipped out her wand at Hermione's words and pointed it into her face.

"You ugly bushy haired bitch," she said, startling all parties with her words, making Black and Potter take a step back and watch the two girls with interest and alarm.

Hermione laughed gaily and raised her own wand. She had been through an entire war, seen some of the darkest things in the wizarding world, was tortured at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. This seventeen year old girl was not going to get the best of her.

"I'd put down your wand Evans, or I'll show you the true meaning of what it is to be an intelligent, independent woman."

Lily's wand hand faltered and James Potter put a hand on her shoulder. She seemed to deflate at this and her expression changed to one of patient amusement. She smiled brightly at Severus, who was watching the both of them. He looked so torn, Hermione felt anger flare in her again.

"See you in the common room," Lily said brightly, stepping back and waving at Hermione before disappearing around the corner with James and Sirius. Hermione let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding and a second later Professor McGonagall came around the corner.

"Miss Granger. Mr. Snape," she nodded at the pair and continued to peruse through the library. Hermione finally turned her attention towards Severus, who had gone back to pretending he was working on school.

"Severus," Hermione said after a few minutes of waiting for him to look up.

"Mm?" Severus said, not looking up from his parchment.

"You know I would never use you for grades right? I mean, there's no way I'd let my grades sink that low…." Hermione waited with baited breath for the joke to sink in.

Finally Severus looked up and smiled at her, if a bit forced.

"Oh yeah Granger? Is that a challenge?"

Hermione returned his smile and all was normal again.

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He couldn't believe Lily had said that. Was that the only reason she had continued their friendship? She had always seemed so genuine to him, but was there a chance that she had been faking the whole time?

Severus thought over all the times that Lily was there for him, ready to listen and offer some sort of comfort. Usually these times would come when they were on break, when no other students were around. Severus sighed. Maybe Lily was ashamed of their friendship, Severus wasn't the most popular person in Hogwarts.

Severus shook his head, Lily wouldn't do that, she was too nice of a person. She had just been trying to get a rise out of Hermione, the two didn't like each other for some reason. That and he was sure Potter wasn't the best influence on her.

Potter was cruel and petty, ignorant and arrogant all wrapped into one. It was no wonder his personality was rubbing off on Lily.

If only their friendship hadn't ended the way it had, maybe he'd have more time to convince her that Potter wasn't the guy for her.

Severus stood up when Hermione mentioned how late it was getting, his mind still lost in thoughts of Lily. The Gryffindor girl put a hand on his shoulder and shook him lightly.

"Are you alright Severus?" She asked quietly, concern evident in her brown eyes. Severus smiled back at her and nodded.

Maybe he no longer had Lily, but at least he had a friend, and Hermione seemed to be a pretty loyal person. They also had a lot in common but Severus was still reserved around her. He had a feeling she wouldn't understand some of his other…extracurricular activities and like Lily, she'd let their differences ruin a perfectly good friendship.

Severus and Hermione walked quietly down the hallway towards her common room. It was a routine they shared several times a week, a comfortable routine that made Severus's days at Hogwarts a little easier to bear. It was nice knowing someone was there for him, someone had his back.

At the common room Hermione turned towards him with an odd look on her face. He watched her patiently, waiting for her to speak, she obviously had something on her mind.

"Severus," she began timidly, wringing her hands nervously.

He inclined his head forward, indicating that she should ask what it was that she wanted to ask.

"Have you ever…oh gosh this is so embarrassing…..Nevermind. Good night Severus." Hermione quickly entered her common room, leaving a confused Severus behind.

What had she wanted to ask him? She was blushing and looking at her feet too and she seemed awfully nervous. Severus thought over her behavior, sad to note that since Lily had approached them he hadn't been paying her too much attention. A bit of guilt flourished in his gut and he shook his head, Hermione was a good friend already and it'd do for him to treat her with a little bit more respect.

He was just going to have to forget about Lily Evans.

But, even as he thought it, his stomach tightened in response and his heart started to beat faster. He knew that it was going to be difficult to get Lily out of his system, even with the support of a friend like Hermione Granger.

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"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Hermione grumbled to herself as she climbed the stairs leading to her room. She continued to berate herself as she thought about the situation in the library. Severus' reaction to Lily made it obvious to her that he still had deep feelings for the girl.

Couldn't he see that what she had said earlier was true? That she had been using him for purposes other than friendship.

'What do you even know about their relationship," a voice whispered in her head. She stopped midway up the stairs and thought about it. It was true, what did she know about the relationship between Severus Snape and Lily Evans. All she knew is what she could decipher from his looks and the memories that Harry shared with her after the war.

There could have been so much more. There could have been a relationship that explored boundaries outside of a purely platonic relationship. What if they had kissed? What if his skilled hands had explored the contours of her body, his lips tracing every curve. What if they had explored the pleasures of the bed together?

Images flooded Hermione's imagination and with a squeak she ran up the rest of the stairs, entered her room, threw herself on her bed, and cast a silencing spell.

Severus, naked, hovering above a panting Lily Evans, a satisfied smirk decorating the corners of his mouth. Lily Evans, begging and pleading with Severus for more. Soft strokes, hard strokes, small cries of pleasure.

And then the images of Lily Evans turned into herself. It was her Severus was hovering above, grinning down at her as she begged him for more.

More. More of what? Hermione bit her lip, trying to erase the images from her head.

Severus's trailing fingers, dancing across her skin, caressing the curves of her breasts and teasing the taunt peaks of her nipples. Dipping below her waist line and making her cry out as they sought her silky folds.

Hermione groaned out loud, thankful that she had cast the silencing charm as her own fingers mimicked the Severus in her imagination.

She thought of how deliciously full she would feel after he plunged into her, maybe on top of the table they had been studying on for weeks now. She thought of the possibility of getting caught on said table, of the look of surprise on the faces of students who would discover the pair in the throes of passion.

She imagined that at that moment she wouldn't care, she would just rake her fingers down Severus's shoulders as he continued to move inside her. She would pant breathy little cries of satisfaction in his ears and beg him to move faster, to move harder.

With a cry Hermione brought herself to release. Several minutes later, her body flushed with embarrassment, Hermione lay on top of her bed and thought about how smitten she was.

About how hopelessy, completely, and totally in love she was with Severus Snape, whether he be 17 years old or 41.

Hermione sighed and soon she fell asleep, quite content.

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**If you could invent any potion, what would it be and why?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello all! **

**Thank you for the lovely reviews, as always. I also enjoyed your responses to the questions I've been adding at the end of the chapter. Look at the end of this chapter for a fun little question.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Lily Evans had been watching Hermione Granger ever since the bothersome witch had shown up to Hogwarts. There was something about the girl that really irked Lily, really got on her nerves.

Lily wasn't always this way, wasn't always mean and power hungry. Once upon a time, before she had come to Hogwarts, Severus and her really did have a friendship. He had been the first to alert her of her magical prowess, he had been there for her when Petunia had decided that family wasn't first.

He had helped her with charms, potions, and transfiguration work. He had always been there when she needed someone to talk to, when she needed to vent about Potter. Lily was always careful to word this in a way that made it seem like she was annoyed with the boy, when in truth she was annoyed that Potter hadn't the guts to make a move.

Lily had been looking for an excuse to end her and Severus's friendship when she finally acknowledged to herself that he would never be popular or successful. First she had chastised him for his choice of friends after she heard James Potter complain to Sirius Black that anyone who would willingly be friends with a Slytherin like that was bound to be evil as well.

That wasn't enough though. He had come to her, angry, talking mountains about how she and he were supposed to be best friends. They had been, but he was becoming too much of a burden on her success, on her chances of becoming what she had always dreamed of.

So that fateful day, when Sirius and James hung Severus upside down, when the laughter of her peers rang in her ears, Lily defended him: half-heartedly. She knew he could see the spark of amusement in her eyes, the little bit of mirth that made the corner of her mouth turned up.

And she knew that because of this he had called her a 'Mudblood', something that she could claim was unforgiveable, more unforgiveable than her amusement at his misfortune.

Lily thought that after that year Severus would be out of her life, a mere shadow in the past, until Hermione Granger came along. The strange girl had befriended Severus and they could almost always be caught studying together in the library.

This irked Lily, though Lily no longer had a desire to be friends with the Slytherin, she didn't want anyone else to befriend him as well. Everyone had thought Lily a saint for spending so much time with Severus and they hadn't blamed her in the slightest when she resorted to the cold shoulder. If this Granger girl kept proving that there was something redeemable about Severus Snape, Lily's own cover would eventually be blown. The termination of their friendship would look like a hasty, misjudged decision on her part and Lily Evans could not have that.

So Lily would have to seek a way to destroy their friendship, make the Granger girl look as demented as Lily herself thought she was. The girl was too smart for her own good; she thought she was morally superior to the rest of her housemates.

'Morally superior' Lily scoffed. Didn't Granger know that morals would get you nowhere in the world. Didn't she know that the hero's of their society weren't constructed based on good morals and sound judgment, but instead popularity and the ability to be well liked.

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Hermione, for once, wasn't paying attention in class. She had tuned out Professor Flitwick's lecture long ago and instead had turned her attention to Severus Snape. She twirled her quill in her finger's watching the Slytherin student who also wasn't paying attention to class.

He was paying attention to that tarty blond Ravenclaw. She had noticed him perk up when the girl had first entered the classroom, moving to take a seat to Severus's left. He had given her an appreciative glance (which she had ignored) and been shooting her furtive glances since the lesson began.

Sure the girl was pretty, and had spent extra time curling her hair that day, and maybe she had a great body as far as bodies go, but honestly, Hermione didn't see the fuss. She was a girl too, couldn't Severus shoot her the lustful glances he was giving the Ravenclaw, the same glances she caught him giving to Lily Evans every now and then.

Hermione sighed and began to doodle on her parchment. Of course Severus wouldn't pay her any extra attention; she had never been too concerned with the way she looked. She had never taken the extra time to charm her hair or put on a little bit of mascara.

It wasn't that Hermione felt she needed to do these things to be considered pretty or successful, no she knew better. She was an independent witch, but sometimes she just wanted to feel pretty, she wanted to be wanted.

She wanted those lustful stares Severus was fixing on the Ravenclaw.

"I can help you, you know," a mousy voice broke through her reverie. Hermione turned to her left to find that Laura Pick was looking at her with friendly amusement. Since her first night in this time, the two had never really gotten a chance to talk or get to know one another, but Laura was still one of the only nice people she had met here.

"Help me?" Hermione finally answered, careful to keep her voice low and to make it look like she was indeed paying attention to the lesson.

"I'm bloody good at makeovers. I see the way you look at him you know," Laura said in response, picking up her quill hastily and jotting down notes when Flitwick looked their way.

Hermione felt a blush begin to spread over her body and she cast her eyes down. Had she been that obvious?

"Don't worry," Laura said, "I'm not going to tell anyone. Just…just meet me in our rooms after Dinner yeah? We can talk more about this."

Hermione nodded, feeling grateful for the kindness the small witch was bestowing upon her. She smiled at Laura, who returned her smile and went back to taking notes.

Hermione vowed to herself not to cast another lovesick look at Severus this day, no, the next time a love sick look would be exchanged it would be Severus looking at her. Hermione had done her job, she had befriended Severus and they had begun to build a blossoming friendship. However now it was time to make Severus see her in a light other than friendship.

She was a woman and damnit Severus would notice. Oh yes he would, he would notice and he would be drooling at her feet and then maybe her fantasies at night would become reality.

But what happens, the voice in her head piped up, when you return to your time.

Hermione paused in thought, squinting her eyes in concentration. What would happen indeed? She hadn't thought about home in a while. She hadn't thought about the new job that awaited her, the friendships she had built over the years, her family, the Weasleys.

Were they worried about her? Did they know what happened to her?

Did the Professor Snape of her time know about this? If she had gone back in time and altered the events of her future, surely the consequences would go in action, had already been in action. Did Professor Snape know of the friendship they had built, had he been waiting for her to go back in time like he knew that she would?

Would he confront her when she returned?

Hermione began to feel sick. What if Professor Snape had known, what if she had already, in his timeline, tried to seduce him? What if it had failed so horribly that he didn't bother bringing up the dastardly mess until absolutely necessary?

A headache was beginning to form and with a silent groan Hermione brought a hand to her forehead, thoughts running askew. She decided then and there that she would deal with the consequences of her actions when she returned to her own time. If Professor Snape didn't welcome her advances and had kept quiet because of this, well blast him. Hermione wasn't one to quit.

She would continue on with her plan and Laura would help her implement her next step: seduce Severus Snape.

A feral, cat like grin spread across Hermione's face and she had the sudden urge to break out into giggles. It would be nice, she decided, to change up her look a little bit. She wouldn't be so petty as to completely ruin her image, she liked that she was a bookish girl, but she would take a little care to enhance her own image, to make herself noticeable.

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Hermione was excited; she was practically skipping down the halls towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. She ignored the giggles that followed her as she turned a corner, entering into the hall that she was looking for.

"Snitches," Hermione said loudly to the Fat Lady, the portrait swung open and Hermione bounced into the common room, happy that it was empty for the most part as most of her fellow students were still in the Great Hall, finishing their treacle tart.

Hermione ran up the stairs and entered her room, grinning hugely when she found Laura Pick sitting on her bed, waiting patiently.

"I know I didn't say so during class, but thank you," Hermione said. Laura grinned at her and patted the bed next to her. Hermione walked over and sat on the bed. She noticed then that Laura had several magazines spread out among her, boasting about articles to help the 'modern witch'.

"Hi Hermione," Laura greeted, "Now before we begin, what is it that you want to change? I have a knack for cosmetic spells, always have really. It used to come in real use my third year, when the other Gryffindors found out…it's really the only time we've liked each other."

Laura hopped off the bed and over to her wardrobe. She flung it open and pulled out a few bottles, filled with different potions and such. Hermione felt sorry for the girl, wishing that over the past few weeks she had spent a little bit more time getting to know her. She didn't want her to think that she was using her for her cosmetic skills.

Honestly Hermione could do them herself if she spent the time necessary to research the various charms and such she would need.

"I want to change my hair," Hermione finally answered, fingering a bushy curl, "I like it. Don't get me wrong, I just want it to be less-"

"Bushy?" Laura supplied, smiling kindly at her. Hermione laughed.

"Yes, bushy. It's always in my face, but to be honest I've never really paid it too much attention. I want to still look like me, maybe a just more enhanced version. Hermione 2.0," Hermione said, flipping through one of the magazines Laura had spread out.

"2.0?" Laura asked.

Hermione laughed and shook her head.

"Just a funny little saying we had at my old school," the brunette witch shrugged. Laura seemed to be satisfied with this answer. She took out her wand and summoned a chair from the common room, placing it in front of her mirror.

"Take a seat Hermione. I know just the solution for your hair. We'll try out a few styles and you let me know what you are comfortable with," Laura guided Hermione to the chair in front of the mirror and leaned over her shoulder, playing with the unruly curls cascading down her back.

Laura picked out a couple of hair potions and mixed them together in her hands before running them through Hermione's bushy curls. She picked up her wand and whispered an enchantment, watching as the bushiness evaporated from the brunette's hair. Hermione's hair began to fall into a sleeker, natural looking curl.

Hermione gasped in the mirror as she took a look at the curls that now fell way past her shoulders. The curls looked light and bouncy and not at all bushy.

"Wow," she finally said, catching Laura's eyes in the mirror, "It looks great."

Laura smiled in reply and waved her wand over Hermione's head again. Two bobby pins appeared on either side, holding back some of the curls, creating a layered effect that looked quite lovely on Hermione.

"Lovely," Laura said

"Now, I have the perfect thing to highlight your eyes."

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**Now, I'm going to provide you with a quote from next chapter and I want to see what you think the context is behind it : )**

**Quote: "Of Course! Severus Snape has a penis doesn't he?"**

**Now please humor me and come up with some fun scenarios for this : ) **

**I'll share some of the best scenarios at the beginning of the next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello Everyone,**

**First of all, Happy Holidays! I want to apologize for my delay in updating, my family dog passed away last week before we left for our Christmas Beach Trip. It was very hard on all of us and a little retreat (minus internet) is just what I needed. I loved all of your guesses for the quote I left you with last time, some of you were pretty close!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter : )**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Lily Evans had a plan, a plan she had shared with James and Sirius. She knew she couldn't trust Remus; he was too much of a soft touch. Peter Pettigrew was too stupid to understand the advantage to a plan such as the one she had come up.

James and Sirius understood though, they may not hate Hermione Granger as much as she did, but they certainly disliked Severus. Ever since their first Hogwarts Express trip the two had a personal grudge against her former friend. Lily never understood it, but she had accepted it a long time ago. Therefore the plan worked in each of their favor.

Lily smiled viciously into the mirror as she darkened they eyeliner highlighting her green eyes. She waved her wand and murmured the spell that twit Pick had taught her in third year. Her hair fell straight, ending just pass her breasts, with a slight curl at the end. Satisfied with her new appearance, Lily reached across her vanity for her newly enchanted perfume. Smiling at her reflection she sprayed the fragrance twice, making it so that she smelled of her name sake.

She pushed away from the mirror and turned towards the wardrobe in her private Head Girl rooms. She rummaged for a Hogwarts uniform that had fit her perfectly in fourth year. Now it would be a little…tight.

Men, she scoffed to herself as she pulled the extremely tiny uniform on. She cast the spell Sirius had found her, ensuring that any teacher who settled eyes on her would see the appropriate length skirt. She smiled in triumph as she felt the magic wash over her.

They were too easy really, men. This plan was so easy it would hardly be any fun, and there was virtually no way she was going to get caught. She would maintain her perfect Gryffindor image and social status. When this was over she'd be back on the arm of James Potter and they would continue their reign as Hogwarts power couple.

Slughorn would continue to fawn over her and introduce her to influential figures in the wizarding world. She and James would go from school to the outside world and live a happy and successful life. They would be gold in the eyes of society, heroes, and a perfect depiction of what everyone should strive for.

But first, she needed to deal with the last bit of her catty nature. Hermione Granger would go down. Lily placed her Hogwarts tie over her neck, making it look haphazard and accidental and with one last smile she grabbed her shoulder bag and sauntered out of her room.

James and Sirius were waiting for her outside in her common room. When the two boys had spotted her both mouths fell open and Lily knew she had accomplished what she wanted. Sirius, once regaining his sense, wolf whistled at her, smirking when James punched his shoulder.

James came up to the witch and gave her a searing kiss before pulling away and looking at her with concern in his brown eyes.

"Lil, are you sure this is going to work?" She could tell that James was feeling a bit reluctant, letting her walk the halls like this. She just smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Of course! Severus Snape has a penis doesn't he?" And with that the trio left the common room out into the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Let the fun begin, Lily thought as she turned the corner, seeking out a certain snarky Slytherin.

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Hermione was definitely feeling pretty, of that she was more than certain. However the girl was also feeling foolishly nervous. She had never looked this way before, and by morning she was positive she couldn't pull it off.

She looked over at Laura who was smiling brightly at her. She rolled out of bed and with a sigh turned towards the mirror. Laura got up as well and moved to stand behind the mirror, watching the girl.

Hermione was relieved that their other two dorm mates had already left to the Great Hall. She didn't want to deal with their snotty smiles and backhanded compliments. They would have giggled behind their hands and left the room, whispering among themselves. Hermione barely maintained her cool whenever those two were around.

"Remember, just like I said," Laura patted her shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. Hermione smiled back and reached down to grab her book bag. She took one last fleeting look as they left their dormitory, feeling confidence begin to sprout in her stomach.

She did look good, she could do this. The two Gryffindor girls walked the halls together, smiling like old friends and talking about what possible reactions Severus would have to Hermione's new look. Hermione was in the middle of chatting about her and Severus' compatibility when Laura slammed to a halt, her mouth hanging open obscenely.

It was only moments before she realized why Laura had stopped in the first place. Lily Evans was standing near the entrance to the Great Hall, her hand placed above her head as she leaned against one of the door frames. Severus was talking with her, his face lit up and his eyes vibrant with life. Lily was giggling girlishly, covering her mouth with a dainty hand after everything said.

Usually this would only bother Hermione a bit, she knew Severus was in love with Lily after all, but this was no normal situation. Lily was dressed like a trollop, her skirt was ridiculously short, she was showing an obscene amount of cleavage, and she was giving Severus a worshipping look. A look, Hermione knew that would never be directed at Severus from Lily.

Something was going on.

Laura turned to Hermione then, and she was surprised by the amount of fire in her friend's eyes.

"That bitch," she seethed as she grabbed Hermione's hand and squeezed in comfort.

"I don't understand. What is she doing?" Hermione said, they continued to watch the scene before them as if witnessing a muggle car accident. Hermione felt anger surging through her veins, heating up her face and making irrational thoughts fly through her mind.

"She must have noticed the way you look at him. We all know she doesn't really care for Snape, if she did they would have been together so long ago…back in fifth year," Laura said.

Finally Hermione sighed and began to walk forward, they both passed Severus and Lily and neither one turned their attention to Hermione's new look. Arriving at the Gryffindor table the two sat down and loaded their plate with food. Hermione began to eat everything she could; she knew that if Harry had seen her at that moment, they would have commented on her likeness to Ron. She was sure she was real attractive at this point.

"Comfort food," Laura sighed after a big bite of eggs, "Always soothes the soul…well at least for a little bit."

Hermione mumbled her consent around a piece of toast, trying to hide just how devastated she was over Lily Evan's little display. She thought at least Severus, who was brilliant, would recognize a cheap ploy. She thought Severus wasn't shallow; that he would look beyond Lily's beauty and see Hermione's personality, Hermione's character.

"Hermione don't do that to yourself," Laura said, watching the expressions flicker across her friend's face.

"You are gorgeous, you've always been gorgeous. Your personality outshines Lily Evans any day. We aren't going to let her get away with this, I promise."

Hermione finally placed down her fork and turned towards Laura.

"Whatever you have in mind, I'm in, but I want to do this classy. I don't want to tart up like Evans did. I'll win because I'm better, smarter, more compatible," Hermione said passionately, the anger dancing in her brown eyes.

Laura smiled hugely and patted her friend on the shoulder.

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Hermione was carefully placing her potions ingredients around her side of the table, watching Slughorn talk to a 'Slug Club' student before class. She knew any second that Severus would slide into the spot next to her in any moment. He'd probably be ecstatic that Lily had finally returned his feelings.

She would be strong, she would nod and carry on conversation and pretend that Severus Snape hadn't dashed her dreams in a mere second. She wished that she hadn't changed her look yesterday, not that he would probably even notice at this point, but if he did she knew it would be hard to remain cool and collected then.

"Hey," his silky voice startled her out of her thoughts and immediately anger flared in her veins again. She wanted to dump the toad spawn onto his head, shout that he was a complete idiot and she was right in front of him, and stomp from the classroom.

'This is going to be harder than I thought,' she said to herself, before taking a deep breath and facing the man boy of her dreams.

"Hey," she finally said, congratulating herself at how so…nonchalant it came off. She winced at the obvious happiness that rolled off of him in waves. How could men be so blind?

Severus was unloading his materials, completely oblivious to the attitude of his friend next to him. Finally he sat up, his ingredients around him, and seemed to notice the change in Hermione's appearance.

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'Wow', a small voice said in his head as he took in Hermione's soft curves, the subtle changes in her makeup and the much appreciated changes in her clothes. His friend looked really good and it was only now that he realized how very pretty the color of Hermione's eyes were.

A soft, golden brown.

An image of Lily Evans rose in his mind then, replacing Hermione's soft brown with a saucy green. She had approached him early in the morning, just as he was entering the Great Hall.

"Severus," she had said and he immediately knew that voice, knew who was addressing him in a tone that finally didn't sound angry.

"Lily," he said careful to keep his voice neutral, to not display the happiness that she was finally acknowledging him again.

She had smiled at him then, the familiar smile that had been such a comfort as he was growing up, such a comfort as they had talked for hours in the small park by their houses.

"I'm so sorry Sev, I've been so stupid lately."

At first he was sure that he had heard that; that his overactive mind had made up that part of the conversation but he had realized after several seconds of silence that she was serious. At once they had broken into conversation and it was so much like the old times, like they had never had a period where they hadn't been friends.

Not to mention the way Lily Evans had looked. The image was seared to his brain, but he was surprised by how disturbing he had found it. She looked good, there was no doubt, but she looked good in the way he would imagine a muggle stripper would after a long day's work.

She didn't look like Lily, his Lily, the girl he loved. However he was a male and his body naturally responded to the amount of skin she had been showing.

Severus knew, though, that he liked girls who took a more subtle approach to sexiness. He liked girls who were modest, who left images to the imagination, girls who would wink at him and flirt with him without ruining the fun of the process.

'You can't be picky' a voice in his head said, and he recognized that after years of loving Lily Evans, that voice was definitely right.

However, Severus Snape was only paying attention to a voice that spoke the opinions of his crotch rather than his head, because if he had acknowledged the other voice (the one in his head) he would have realized that Lily Evans was not what he wanted at all.

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**Give me a brief scenerio that includes Severus going commando and Hermione in the kitchens...hehe be creative!**

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	9. Chapter 9

**Hello all,**

**Thank you for your reviews and condolences. **  
**Here is the next chapter : )**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Hermione woke up feeling unusually refreshed despite the disastrous week she had. She rolled out of bed with a spring to her step and hastily awoke Laura, who seemed not to be as cheery as she was. The girl groaned and complained before pulling her covers over her head and doing her best to ignore Hermione.

As gently as possible, without waking the other girls, Hermione pulled on the covers, forcing Laura to acknowledge both her and the morning.

"Why are you so damn cheery?" Laura finally asked, sitting up and wiping the sleep from her eyes. Her normally impeccable hair was strung around her face wildly and Hermione giggled at her appearance.

"I don't know …I just have a good feeling about today," Hermione said, throwing her pajamas over her head as she searched for the days clothes. It was a weekend, a Hogsmeade weekend, and Hermione planned on taking advantage of discarding her drab school uniform in favor of something a little bit more…her.

The weather was cold today so Hermione's choices were limited to warm sweaters and jeans. She was comparing a dark red sweater and a charcoal grey one to go with her favorite pair of jeans. It wasn't anything special, but the outfit was flattering on her and showed off her curves well.

"Definitely the red one," Laura said from the other side of the room. Hermione shrugged and pulled the red sweater over her body. The warm, soft material was comforting against her skin and Hermione felt her good mood lift even further.

She turned towards the mirror to work her hair into the soft curl that Laura had taught her and finished with a little bit of makeup.

"Very nice," Laura commented, "Very you."

Hermione smiled and turned towards her.

"And you look gorgeous as always," Hermione grabbed Laura's arm and led her quietly out of the seventh year dorms. It was funny how her trip in the past had made her act so…seventeen. Hermione, really 21, never got a chance to experience her teenage years like a normal girl. She was always off with Harry and Ron determined to bring down Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters. It was nice, now, to spend some time doing things she had ignored during her adolescent hood.

The two girls headed for the Great Hall for an early breakfast when Hermione ran into Severus. It was then she realized that she hadn't thought about him for one minute that morning until then. Severus had been ensnared by Lily Evans obvious plan to seduce him and had been spending quite a bit of time with the red head girl, a situation which put both Hermione and James Potter at unease.

Hermione had only seen him during class time, at which he was always in a good mood and rather talkative. She had to work hard to keep her attitude calm and neutral. Laura and she had discussed it in depth and both girls felt it was best to let the scene play out, Lily would show her true colors eventually and hopefully Severus would utilize his knowledge to his advantage.

Severus nodded to Hermione as the girls passed him into the Great Hall, Hermione smiled and nodded back, careful to not let the hot anger in her stomach swell up and consume her. It was a Hogsmeade visit today and she was determined to have a good time and get her Christmas shopping out of the way.

She and Laura took a seat at the Gryffindor table and began to pile their plates with food, chatting about inane things that they had noticed or done over the week. Quickly the talk turned to what they needed to purchase in Hogsmead and a good Christmas present Hermione could purchase for Severus.

"I mean, let's face it. Snape hasn't been the most popular student at Hogwarts over the year. Usually he's alone; it's weird to see him so happy lately. I think anything you get him will be appreciated," Laura said.

Hermione nodded, chewing on toast and jam and thinking about her answer.

"Well I understand, and while I don't want to start some jealous rage over Severus with Lily, I want to show him that I truly do understand him and get him. I don't want it to be thoughtless."

"I don't want it to be thoughtless," mimicked a perfectly pitched voice. Hermione sighed, knowing that Lily Evans had overheard their conversation. She really didn't want to pick a fight with the girl at the moment.

"Shut it Evans," Laura had responded first. Lily laughed at Laura and took a seat across from the girls.

"So Granger, you think that a stupid little gift will get Severus to notice you? How pathetic!" Lily reached out a dainty hand for a glass of pumpkin juice. Hermione tried her best to tune the girl out but already she could feel the anger surging through her veins.

Damnit, she just wanted one good Lily Evans free day.

"Don't you think that if Severus cared about you in any way at all he would have already showed it?" Lily was looking straight at Hermione, determined to draw a response from her.

"We are good friends, he obviously cares for me in some way," Hermione said, surprised by the sarcasm that coated her words. Lily looked surprised for a moment as well before her smile was back on her face.

"Good friends? You consider your little study sessions a good friendship? Severus and I have been up to much more than stupid school work in just the one week that we've….rekindled…our 'friendship'. It's really quite pathetic actually, how easy it is to get him to give me those looks. As if I'd ever consider a romantic relationship with such an ugly, greasy-AHHG"

Lily Evans harsh words were cut off as Hermione threw herself across the table, forgetting her wand for the moment and instead choosing to hit the girl with her fists.

"You're an evil little bitch," Hermione shouted, unaware that she had attracted the attention of any early risers in the Great Hall as well as Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. All she cared about was causing Lily Evans a little bit of pain, bringing the girl back down from the cloud she had launched herself up in.

The two girls tumbled to the hard floor, scratching and kicking at each other in true cat fight style. Hermione finally remembered her wand and pulled it out to curse the insane redhead underneath her. As Lily felt the spell hit her she shrieked and covered her face with her arms, allowing Hermione the chance to pull herself up off the girl and stand smirking over her.

"MISS GRANGER," Professor McGongall shrieked as she approached the two. Hermione finally noticed that not only Laura and the rest of the hall was looking at her in shock, but Severus was as well, sitting quite stunned at the Slytherin table with his mouth wide open.

Finally giggles began to spread across the hall and Hermione turned her attention back towards Lily Evans, who had removed her hands from her face at the insistence of Professor McGonagall. Great bogies swarmed Lily's face and finally she screamed in frustration and ran from the hall, the laughter echoing after her. Ginny Weasley would have been proud of Hermione.

"Explain yourself this instant Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said, her eyes narrowed in anger and her mouth in the familiar tight line Hermione would come to know in her own years at Hogwarts.

However, Hermione had no words at the moment and instead hung her head, knowing that her loss of temper had gotten herself into trouble. She was ashamed that she had let Lily get to her that way.

"Detention every night this week and no Hogsmeade visit for you," Professor McGonagall practically spat the words, the witch was so angry. Without waiting for Hermione's reply, she turned and headed back to the teachers table, ignoring the laughter of the rest of the students. Hermione plunked down onto the bench and hung her head.

"Why did I do that?" She asked Laura, who had begun to look at her with admiration shining on her mousy face.

"I don't know, but it was bloody brilliant!" the girl finally exclaimed, clapping Hermione on the back and smiling widely.

"I don't think it was all that brilliant," said a silky voice. Hermione groaned and lifted her head, knowing that she was about to experience the infamous temper of Severus Snape in front of everyone.

"Severus-"

She tried to start but was interrupted by Severus, who held up a hand. She could practically feel the anger rolling off of him in waves. If only he could see what Lily Evans really was, what she had really been saying that had made Hermione's temper explode.

"I cannot believe you. I thought you were different, I thought you didn't make fun of people or humiliate them in front of large crowds," the words were said quietly, so that only herself and Laura could hear them but the impact of his words affected the entire hall.

It was then Hermione realized what the scene she just caused reminded Severus of, and it was then that she realized the gravity of her mistake.

"Severus please listen to me," Hermione began to plead but the seventh year Slytherin turned on his feet and stormed out of the Great Hall, looking all too much like the Professor she knew.

Tears began to gather at the corner of her eyes and slide down her cheeks, she was now noticing the disgusted looks many were throwing her way. Lily Evans had them all fooled, all but Laura, who was now rubbing her shoulder in sympathy.

Severus Snape would probably never talk to her again.

And with that thought, Hermione Granger began to cry in earnest, seeking solice in the comfort of her one and only friend.

**Review Review Review!**

**I'd like to thank The-only-real-annabeth-chase and Snapes-Star for sharing your pet stories/advice with me...they were lovely : )**

**This chapter's question: Ever gotten into a fight? Please tell : )**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello All! A few things. Monday starts a new term and I won't be able to update as often as I'd like to, however I'll try my hardest to get updates out in a timely manner. Also, I loved all your stories about fights you had been, look to the end for my own fight story and this chapter's question.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Severus Snape had not spoken to her in a week's time, preferring to gallivant among the castle at the heels of Lily, whom became quite good at turning on the water works for him after last week's Great Hall debacle.

It wasn't that Hermione hadn't tried to speak to him; she had, several times, but she was met with an indifferent sneer and a billowing of robes that began to make her yearn for her time even more. Laura tried to be as comforting and understanding as she could but Hermione knew that, finally, their difference in age was beginning to take a toll on their friendship.

Well, she wasn't being completely honest with herself. If she had to admit the reason why things were turning awkward between the mousy Gryffindor and herself she would say it was because of her own selfishness. She had done nothing but mope about the castle, tuning out of the many conversations that Laura had tried to start with her. She knew that the girl was beginning to get a bit annoyed with her attitude but she couldn't find it in her heart to care very much.

It just wasn't fair, this situation. Hermione had done many great things in her time, that was for sure, but she had never tried anything like this. Frankly, she didn't like losing. Severus Snape was obviously ensnared by Lily Evans and there was little she could do about it. When she thought about it she got angry with herself; after Harry's revelations that the snarky Slytherin had done so much for the sake of his mother, she really should have known. She should have known better, she should have been smarter.

She didn't feel like herself, she felt like she was part of some alternate universe where things were quite off. She didn't like that she had to again prove herself to be worthy of the wizarding world and worthy of the attention of a brilliant wizard. She had already dedicated ten years of her life (since she was eleven) to doing just that. Hermione was an adult for Merlin's sake, and she was playing kid games.

She sat in a chair in front of the fire, ignoring the other students as she contemplated her fate in this time period. Laura had left her a while ago, after it was obvious that she wasn't going to take part in conversation yet again. The girl had huffed and left through the entrance and out into the halls of the castle. Hermione did feel bad, Laura had done a lot for her, but she just didn't have the energy to chase after her.

She knew that if Ron and Harry had been here they would be quite worried about her by this point; she hadn't picked up a book all week.

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Laura Pick didn't like this situation one bit. She had finally found a kindred spirit in her own house and now Lily Evans had once again taken her away from her. She wouldn't stand for it. She knew Hermione was hiding secrets, the girl wasn't stupid, but she also knew that they worked well together. They could be great friends, given time, the kind of friend that she had been looking for all her life.

She stormed through the halls of Hogwarts, determined to find solution to the two individuals who were causing her friend so much grief. She really didn't understand Hermione's attraction to Severus Snape, she herself rather thought he was awkward and a bit rude, but she knew that love knew no bounds (not to be cliché or anything) and Hermione Granger was obviously in love with Severus Snape.

Too bad the prat was completely oblivious, not only to the brunette's feelings but to the feelings of that grotesque red head as well. Lily Evans always had a knack for charming others, Laura knew this. She also knew that she was immune to Lily's charm; a fact the witch picked up on quickly, which left Laura ostracized by the other students. Lily had never given her a chance, never given her a shot to prove herself.

She had rounded her third corner, gone down her third corridor and she was slightly out of breath. Where was he? She knew that he would be sulking around somewhere, Black had given her that much information, but unfortunately Potter was nowhere to be found. After years of watching Potter drool over Evans, Laura knew that the boy had to be furious with the current situation. She also knew, by his lack of response or action so far, that this further proved that Lily's 'relationship' with Snape was a plot, a plot she had clued both Potter and Black into.

Laura was hoping to persuade Potter however, make him think that Snape was actually a threat to his future with Lily Evans. She knew the boy had an ego and she knew it wouldn't take much to push just the right buttons before he brought down the entire operation. Then, hopefully, Severus fucking Snape would pull his head out of his arse and Hermione and him would have sneering babies and live happily ever after. And she would keep her first and only friend.

Laura blew a stray hair out of her eyes and continued her search of the castle. Potter had to be around here somewhere.

888888 (Smutty Smut smut smut)

"Lily," he breathed running his hands through her perfect red hair. She sighed against his neck and shivers spread throughout his body.

He had been waiting for this for so long. He pulled back to look into her green eyes, eyes that sparkled for him, and only him, finally. He gave her a rare smile in return and bent to kiss the tip of her nose. She scrunched up her face and he never thought she looked more beautiful.

"Sev…" Lily's voice had a little bit of a bite to it, he knew it irritated her when he did that, but he couldn't help himself.

"Sorry Lil, you're just too adorable." He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a quick hug, before pulling back and capturing her lips with his. It took her a little bit to respond, but he had gotten used to that by now. It must just be something that she did, a little quirk of hers.

He continued to kiss her passionately, ignoring the little part of himself that wondered why the kisses were so bland, why this time with her wasn't what he expected, wasn't more exciting. That thought was always quickly pushed away however, when Lily began to run her hands down his chest before dipping below the waist of his trousers.

He sucked in a breath as her dainty hands came into contact with his boxers and he knew what her destination was. She had been doing this all week, pleasing him with her hands. It seemed to be the only thing she was interesting in doing. A few times he thought he had caught a bored expression on her face, but the love he felt for the red headed witch quickly brushed away his worries.

Lily Evans was here with him, kissing him and touching him. Letting him kiss and touch her…to an extent. He felt her small hands grasp his member and the thoughts quickly fled his mind, her touch was distracting but he didn't want tonight to go like the past three days had gone.

He pulled back from her mouth and captured her hands in his, pulling them from his cock.

"Wait Lil, I want to touch you," he whispered passionately. Instead of the smile he was hoping for Lily jerked away from him and crossed her hands over her chest. He could see irritation dripping from her and confusion began to replace the haze of lust he had been under.

"Lily, is something wrong? What did I do?" Severus tried to reach out for her but she stepped away from him and her lips began to form into a sneer. Okay, so maybe she wasn't ready for his touch yet. He could accept that. He would give her as much time as she needed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't push you that way," he said the words quietly, hoping that she would take his apology at face value.

She took a small step towards him, hesitantly, and he smiled encouragingly at her.

"Can we just get this over with?" She asked, once again reaching for the waist band of his trousers. Hurt pierced him, followed by anger. It was quickly wiped away though, when her hands began to stroke him. Her pace was fast and rough and the feeling it brought was intoxicating.

"Yessss," he hissed when she touched a particularly sensitive spot on the head of his cock. Doubts and worries about their relationship flew out of his head as he felt that familiar sensation began to build up in the pit of his stomach.

"Come on, come on, come on," She whispered and through his lust hazed brain he felt he had never heard anything sexier.

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Little did Severus Snape realize that Lily wasn't the least bit interested in neither his pleasure, his touch, nor his cock. She was merely satisfied with the way he had worshipped her this week, the silent treatment he had given to Hermione Granger, and those rare moments when he would apologize again and again for what his (no longer) friend did to her in the Great Hall.

He had asked her only once why Hermione Granger had leapt over the table after her and instead of answer him (for she had come up with no cover up for his question) Lily pulled him to her and kissed him. The kiss had little to no passion for her but she knew that Severus Snape had been dreaming about this sort of thing for a while now. She decided she would go the extra mile and throw in a handy as well and she knew that first night, when he had groaned and moaned her name and spilled himself into her hand, that Severus Snape was putty.

He was utterly in her control and that feeling of power left her almost drunk. So when Severus Snape once more came into her skillful hands, she let a satisfied little smile appear on her face and she let Severus Snape think whatever he please about it.

**Review Review Review**

**Ahh fights! I've been in quite a few but probably the most memorable was over my little brother. I was in 4th grade and had the biggest crush on the 'pretty boy'. His name was Todd. My brother came up to me during recess crying one day and I learned that Todd had pushed him down on the basketball court and told him he couldn't play with the older boys (really, my brother was only one year younger, jerks). I got so mad! During Safekey (after school program) Todd was playing soccer and it was muddy out on the fields. I approached him, punched him, and then shoved him into the mud. I'll never forget the look on his face...needless to say it cured me of my little crush.**

**This week's question: Ever done something stupid in response to unrequited love? What was it?**

**Thanks all : ) Your reviews are really lovely and I enjoy reading them...until next time.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! It's been a LONG time since my last update and I apologize for that. However, now that school has officially ended (as of today, I took my last final) for the year, I will have plenty of free time to update the story.**

**Enjoy : )**

Ignored and left alone by the other students, Hermione Granger was sprawled across a comfy couch in the Gryffindor common room. Her hair was thrown about her face, curls haphazardly shielding the drooling crawling down her chin from sight.

Her dreams and subconscious were focusing on the two people who were bent on making her life hell. She waved in and out of situations that were becoming increasingly bizarre.

First she was in the Great Lake, swimming after a mermaid Lily who had captured Severus and was taking him deep into the depths of the murky water.

Then she was deep inside the caves of Gringotts, running from a dragon who had green eyes and red scales.

And next….she was shaken awake by an enthusiastic Laura Pick, who was grinning much like the Cheshire cat she imagined in the story books her parents read to her.

"What? Laura?" Hermione moaned and turned over, wiping the drool from her mouth before sitting up. The mousy girl was practically bouncing back and forth on her feet.

"Hermione, listen. Okay, so you haven't been the greatest friend…but I understand," Laura said, waving away any interruptions Hermione was about to bring up.

"Lily Evans is a fucking bitch and I'm really sick of it. We, you and I Hermione, will be great friends and it isn't going to not happen because Evans wants to continue being a giant jerk."

Laura paused to take a breath while Hermione sat on the couch and stared up at her.

"I've got a new plan and I've already set it in motion. James Potter is furious! He has been convinced by yours truly that Severus is actually becoming a threat. I played it up and watched Potter's ego swell and his anger with it."

Hermione watched Laura in awe, surprised by the iniative and spark that the younger girl was showing. She was obviously determined to keep Hermione a friend and had proved herself to be a true ally.

If Hermione was truthful with herself, she would admit that having a real girlfriend in this timeline would be something of a novelty for her. She missed Ginny and she missed the easy banter the two had together.

Hermione smiled and engulfed Laura in a hug, mid-speech, stopping the words from coming out of her mouth.

"Thank you," she muttered into her hair, feeling Laura squeeze her back.

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Lily Evans was finishing her hair, brushing the long luscious locks into perfection. She examined herself in the mirror and pouted her lips, exaggerating their fullness.

A smirk spread across her face and she winked at her reflection before stooping down to grab her school bag and leaving her dorm.

She was happy with how her plan had been playing out. A small part of her, the old her, was a bit guilty for the way she was treating Severus, but Lily was easily able to ignore it.

Life was amusingly easy when everyone believed that Lily was nice and wholesome. It was so easy to take advantages of the situations that Hogwarts offered her and she knew that she would live up to their expectations, even if they would never be able to see behind the wall that she had built up.

Lily walked into the Great Hall, smiling and waving at all the Gryffindors who turned her way. Severus was giving her a smothering look from the Slytherin table and she paused for a second to throw a small smile in his direction. Immediately he began to look flustered and she almost scoffed at the patheticness of it.

She sauntered down the rows of the Hall and took a seat near James.

"Good morning," she cooed to Potter, who she noticed had an angry glint in his eyes. What was this?

"Morning." The greeting was no where near sincere and his voice had a gruff quality to it that she usually associated with jealousy. Uh oh.

Lily smiled like James had greeted her enthusiastically and began to fork a bit of egg on to her plate. She reached across the table for some toast, making sure that her blouse pulled tightly across her chest. She felt Jame's eyes wonder down, fleetingly, and she held back a smile.

"Something bothering you love?" She finally asked when he returned to glaring at her.

James huffed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked hard at her for a moment or two.

"Yeah…yeah I'd reckon that something is definitely bothering me Lily." James stood up then, his voice increasing in volume, gathering the attention of the other students dining in the Great Hall.

Lily laughed, albeit a bit nervously, and waved a hand.

"James, sit down, you're starting to attract attention." She forced herself to remain cool and calm and took a bit out of her toast, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach that told her things were about to go south.

"No, Lil, I don't want to sit down. I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU THINK THAT ACTUALLY TOUCHING SNAPE WAS PART OF OUR PLAN TO HUMILIATE HIM!" James Potter roared, slamming his fist down onto the table.

The entire Hall went silent, all eyes locked onto the volatile couple. Whispers started pouring out of the students mouths at a high speed.

"You hear that? She's been messing with ol' Snapey."

"She actually touched him? Ewww"

"I never knew how mean she could be, I mean Snape used to be her friend right."

The whispering grew and grew and Lily became flustered. She could feel Severus' eyes burning a whole in her back and she knew that any moment he would be coming over here.

James Potter was sneering at her in disgust and turned away from the table to leave the hall.

"James," Lily reached out a hand to stop him, "Please wait."

He didn't look back.

The whispers started to change to laughter.

"Lil," a silky voice to her left said. Lily Evans sighed and turned to Severus, who looked like a drowned puppy. His eyes were swimming with his emotions and he was trembling just slightly.

Lily was brought back to the past, to a memory of her and Severus on a playground, excitedly swapping ideas and fantasies of what Hogwarts would be like.

_"You're my best friend Lily," little Severus said, grinning widely and kicking his feet back and forth on the swing set._

_Lily smiled at him and reached across the swings to pat his head._

_"Mine to Sevvy!" She exclaimed, before laughing at the look of amused outrage that appeared on his face._

_"I told you, Evans, not to call me that," he said before jumping off the swing to approach her. Lily screamed and launched herself off of her own swing set, before taking off as fast as her little legs could carry her, winding through the play ground as Severus chased after her. Eventually he caught up to her, being much taller than she, and he tackled her to the ground. _

_Lily looked up at him for a split second before they both erupted into laughter. She pushed him off with a playful hand and they sat in the grass where he had jumped on her, laughing until their sides hurt._

_Both of them couldn't remember a time they had laughed so hard._

The Lily of this time barely registered the guilt that was building in the pit of her stomach. Too much had changed, she had been corrupted by the idea of power and the possibilities that power would bring her.

She had been influenced, like so many others before her, by her own success and her own greed. She would get to the top, she would do wonderful things, and if anybody spoke of her after her time had passed, they wouldn't remember this situation, this Lily who had stepped on the heart of a man who used to be her closest and most valued friend.

No, they would remember a joyous, kind Lily Evans. Severus Snape was just collateral.

"Just go away Sev, I've never wanted you." The words were quietly said, but she knew that he had heard them.

His big dark eyes blinked unbelievingly at her and she could almost see his poor heart breaking into pieces. He sucked in a breath of air and without saying a word to her or looking at anyone else, he left the Great Hall hurriedly, followed minutes behind by a band of Slytherins Lily knew to be associated with the Death Eaters.

Such was life.

The students continued to laugh.

Damnit. Lily turned back to her table, looking for a bothersome Brunette with bushy hair.

She found her, sitting next to Pick, both with identical smirks on their faces.

"You." Lily spat the word out and pointed a finger at Granger, who was looking even more amused. This served to make her angrier.

"YOU BITCH," she yelled out, taking slow steps to the two girls. Granger just raised an eyebrow and remained silent.

"Miss Evans!" She heard Professor McGonagall gasp at the staff table, she didn't care however and continued to approach Granger.

"You'll pay," Lily whispered before brandishing her wand and calmly whispering an incantation.

With her whispered words, a bright purple light flew from her wand, hitting Granger squarely in the chest before it burst into an orange ball, the light from the spell glittering obscenely in the Great Hall, and then disappeared, Granger with it.

The Great Hall broke out into pandemonium. Lily Evans smiled.

**Wellll...what did you think? I feel bad for Severus but even more so for Lily. Too often we see good people corrupted by the thought of power and success. **

**Question: What are your summer plans? Any vacations?**

**REVIEW : ) And... I MISSED YOU ALL!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for the lovely reviews : ) I'm glad to be back as well.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Enjoy!**

With a resounding crash, Hermione landed ungracefully in the middle of the Gryffindor table. Eggs, bacon, and sausage rolls exploded on impact, pegging multiple shocked students in the face.

Nobody moved to wipe the food from their faces though and only stared in amazement at their new transfiguration professor who had been missing for a month and a half.

Hermione winced as she tried to push herself up and off the table, oblivious to the stares of the students around her and the complete shock of the staff. She picked a sausage roll out of her unruly curls and slid off the table, brushing the egg from her student uniform.

Finally she looked around and her heart began to hammer inside of her chest as she recognized the familiar faces. They were from her time. A smile started to blossom on her face and several of the students shot off of the benches in alarm.

"Hermione?" A familiar voice called from the head table. Hermione turned towards the Headmistress, who had a hand against her chest as if to still her fluttering heart.

"Is that really you?" The elder witch lifted herself regally from her seat and began to walk towards Hermione.

Hermione nodded, tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. She was finally home, after several months of wishing it were so. She knew she would miss Laura and even young Severus, but she was glad to be back in her own time, where she could be her own age and not have to participate in petty acts of jealousy.

"It's me," she finally whispered and the old matriarch clapped her hands together before steering Hermione out of the Great Hall. Neither witch noticed the Potions professor follow them, his robes billowing out impressively as he stalked the two.

Minerva continued to guide Hermione towards the direction of her office, whispering her excitement over Hermione's return and her good health.

"We were so worried!" She exclaimed once they reached the place where the stone gargoyles used to lie. It was then that Minerva noticed Professor Snape behind them.

"Weren't we Severus?" Hermione sucked in a breath, having forgotten for just a moment the consequences of her time travel and the up-in-the-air status of their relationship with one another.

Cautiously she ducked from under Minerva's arm and swiveled to face Professor Snape. His face was blank as a mask but he didn't seem to be sneering or glaring at her.

That was a good sign wasn't it?

The three began the long treck up the stairs at Minerva's spoken password and eventually Hermione found herself plopped in a comfortable squishy chair opposite the Headmistress and beside the potions master.

"What happened to you Hermione?" Minerva finally asked after a moment of silence in which the three quietly observed one another.

Hermione took a deep breath, knowing that it was the semantics of her time travel that Minerva was interested, since the Headmistress had been a Professor in that time. Surely she had recognized Hermione.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what caused it, but it seems to be triggered by some sort of spell. Most likely Dark magic," Hermione began to explain, looking from Professor Snape, who still wore an impassive expression, to Minerva, who was beginning to look confused.

"What is it?" the Headmistress finally asked, interrupting Hermione's recollection of what it felt like to be hit with the spell. Hermione paused and once again surveyed her soon-to-be colleague's expressions.

Professor Snape had now begun to look annoyed, but not nearly annoyed as he would have if he had recognized Hermione. Minerva's confusion had been doubled and she even had a hint of irritation on her sharp features.

"You…you don't recognize me?" Hermione finally asked.

Professor Snape sighed in exasperation and threw up his hands.

"She's gone insane," He commented dryly. Minerva shook her head and looked at Hermione with a patronizing expression.

"Hermione, dear…we don't know what you are talking about," she finally said.

Hermione was beginning to panic, surely they had remembered her in the past, surely her actions altered the timeline in some way….right? She began to focus on the portraits around her. The former headmistresses and headmasters were all listening in with interested eyes. Finally she found Professor Dumbledore's portrait.

He looked quite calm and rather uninterested in the events taking place, she even detected a bit of guilt in his expression as he was reluctant to meet her eyes.

"Professor?" Hermione asked, forgetting for the moment that the greeting was relevant to multiple people in the room.

Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat and looked around his portrait, quite keen on ignoring Hermione's call.

Minerva and Professor Snape both waited, watching Hermione with a bit of alarm.

"Professor Dumbledore? I know you can hear me," Frustration was starting to color Hermione's voice, she didn't like being confused with a situation. Not one bit.

"Surely Miss Granger you can wait to talk to Professor Dumbledore _after you've explained what happened_," Professor Snape ground the words out and was fixing Hermione with the glare she had been expecting since she had gotten back to her own time.

Hermione smiled at him and she could see his glare falter for just a second.

"No, no I can't. Professor Dumbledore, can you please explain to me why neither Minerva nor Professor Snape remembers me from my travel or the time I spent in Professor Snape's seventh year?" Hermione asked, her words seemed light and friendly but anybody there could easily see the hard glint that began to take over her normally soft and warm eyes.

Professor Dumbledore twittled his thumbs and began to hum a tune.

It only took a second for Professor Snape to catch on to what Hermione said.

"Do you mean to tell me that you traveled in time? " He said to Hermione. She only nodded, her eyes fixed on Professor Dumbledore, who was still playing dumb.

Minerva gasped at Hermione's assent and stood up, her palms pressed flat against her desk as she leaned over it, staring hard at Hermione.

Twin spots of red were beginning to color the younger witch's cheeks, her hands were bunched into fists at her side and she was staring hard at the portrait of the late, great Albus Dumbledore.

Hermione was beginning to get a sense of what had happened, based on Dumbledore's guilty looks.

"Yes, Minerva," Hermione finally spoke, "When I was hit with the spell in the corridor that morning, I was taken back to the year 1977. I was found in the same corridor I had vanished in during the present and was immediately taken to Professor Dumbledore's office. He assigned me the role of a Gryffindor 7th year."

Hermione paused to take a look at Professor Snape who looked dumbfounded at her words. It was the only time, in fact, that she could recall the expression ever christening his face.

"Professor Snape and I were quite good friends," she heard both Minerva and Snape gasp at this, "Until Lily Evans came into the picture."

Hermione glared fullforce at the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, whose occupant was now giving her his full attention and wearing a look of grief and shame.

Hermione only faltered for a minute.

"Surely they would remember….right Headmaster?"

**Uh-oh, what has Professor Dumbledore kept from his loved ones now? Please review and let me know what you think.**

**Question: Have you ever gone into a situation expecting things to be one way and then being duped by a completely different outcome?**

**I think I felt this way my first semester of college. I had been expecting that I would be going to party after party and it would all be a roller coaster of fun. Instead I threw myself into my academics and extracurricular organizations. I quickly found that partying wasn't my thing and that I indeed was an introvert. Eye-opener.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you for the lovely reviews! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

The portrait of Dumbledore sighed then, stroking the beard that went below the frame, so that his hand was hidden from view for just a second. He looked sadly at Hermione and when Professor Snape cleared his throat impatiently, his sad gaze was redirected.

"I'm an old fool," he said then, capturing the attention of not only the three people he was addressing directly but also the hundreds of past masters and mistresses. Minerva had shakily stepped back and sunk into her own seat and with a reluctant glare Professor Snape had done the same.

"I don't understand how that's possible, " Hermione said. Albus shook his head and gestured for her to return to her seat as well. She did.

"That day you left, Hermione, I had realized something very important," he began and then suddenly addressed the other two, "Yes Hermione was a 'student' in the year 1977. I knew that she was from the future as did you Minerva. She was there for several months and as she said, had begun a serious friendship with Severus. "

Minerva nodded, letting him know that she had heard and Professor Snape had that flash of awe on his face once again. He turned to Hermione and blinked at her before turning back to the Headmaster's portrait.

"We, of course, all know of the fateful prophecy made so many years ago that had targeted young Harry as the savior of our world," Dumbledore paused here, shaking his portrait head and taking a moment to collect his thoughts.

It was alarming Hermione, the state that he was in. She had never seen the Headmaster so disoriented and guilty, even in portrait form.

"That wasn't the only prophecy spoken about the Lily and James Potter. In 1960, while researching a dark charm that had begun to become quite popular in Ireland, I began a beautiful friendship with a seer, Melampus Argos. He was widely known in Greece and had left his homeland for a bit of peace in Ireland."

"Not many knew his talent and I'll admit that neither did I. He kept his secret well hidden, preferring to live his life quietly and with those who wouldn't take advantage of his gift. One evening Melampus and I had stopped by an old Inn for a bit of food."

Dumbledore looked lost in memory.

"Melampus entered a prophetic trance that evening, as we ate our Shepherd's pie. I immediately knew what was happening and requested a room. I had managed, on sheer dumb luck, to drag him up to the room and secure it's privacy before he began to speak."

Dumbledore paused and looked sadly at Professor Snape, who was watching him with interest.

"_The power to vanquish the Dark Lord comes with the marriage of the cruel doe to the cocky stag. Only this union will teach the doe to feel truly and to give herself to another. Thrown together by fate's manipulative hand, their bond will ensure a power the Dark Lord knows not. Her personality mustn't shine too brightly for she will surely be left alone and with her deserved loneliness the Dark Lord will remain on his throne."_

The words sunk into Hermione as Dumbledore spoke. She memorized each one as they left his lips and traveled to her ears, but at the moment, she could not process their meaning.

The room was quiet as the occupant's thought about Melampus' prophecy and what it meant to the alteration of events that lay before them. Hermione's own mind was racing as she picked apart the prophecy bit by bit.

The meaning was simple, really, but the consequence of the actions taken to fulfill the prophecy was both unsettling and hard to come to terms with.

Albus didn't wait for the odd trio to fully comprehend his words.

"Melampus and I parted ways shortly after that, as he truly had no trust for those who knew of his power. I went back to England, unsuccessful on my journey, and began a new school year. Voldemort hadn't truly come to power yet but it had been a deep fear of mine and I knew he was working on collecting supporters. Melampus' prophecy only confirmed my guesses."

"I knew that the prophecy applied to Lily Evans and James Potter after the incident that nearly involved your death Severus. James cover was blown as a stag animagus and it was truly enlightening for me. I began to watch James Potter and his friends more closely and eventually discovered that Lily Evan's corporeal Patronus was a doe."

"In your 5th year Severus, when Sirius Black and James Potter lifted you in the air by the lake, I recognized that your friend Lily Evans was not who she said she was. After I watched the incident in my pensieve, having collected the memory from an eyewitness, it was truly sad for me to realize that someone you called a friend, someone you loved had taken amusement from something that was a tragedy to you. It reall-"

"HOW DARE YOU?" Professor Snape interrupted Albus, leaping form his chair and roaring the words. His eyes had a mad glint to them and spittle flew from his lips.

"Are you trying to imply, Albus, that Lily Evans was cruel? That she was mean hearted and mean spirited and that our friendship didn't end that day because I called her a MUDBLOOD but because she wanted it to?" Professor Snape yelled.

Hermione took a deep breath and tried to collect her senses. This was painful to watch when she and Severus had been friends just a few weeks ago, but even more so know that she was here with his adult counterpart, Professor Snape.

Hermione looked to Minerva, who usually would have stopped Professor Snape's outburst at this point, but noticed that the older witch had her lips drawn into that familiar thin line that meant she was pretty angry herself.

As was Hermione of course. This could only mean that Professor Dumbledore had somehow found a way to erase her and the events she participated in that uncovered Lily's true personality, from their memories.

This could only mean that Professor Dumbledore willingly let Professor Snape sacrifice his life and time over and over again under the pretense that he was cherishing the memory of someone he believed was good, someone he believed HE had wronged, someone he loved.

"Severus, Lily Evans was indeed cruel," Dumbledore began, addressing Professor Snape's accusations, "She was drunk with the idea of power and she was not afraid to sacrifice others to get what she considered success. Her friendship with you was one of those sacrifices and though I believe a small part of her was guilty and truly sorry for what she had done to you, a larger part didn't care."

"NONSENSE," Professor Snape stood and grabbed the nearest trinket from Minerva's desk, throwing it against the Headmaster's portrait. It shattered with a satisfying tinkle of broken glass and though Hermione didn't condone such actions usually, there was something satisfying about the way Dumbledore had flinched.

"Professor," Hermione interjected quietly, laying a hand on his arm. He started at her touch and turned to her, shaking her hand from his person and sneering down at her unattractively.

"What is it Miss Granger? You expect me to believe this hobble because you claimed you traveled in time and we were friends? Idiotic girl." He spat the words and though Hermione felt each and every one she understood his anger. He had been lied to for so many years, lied to by someone he had trusted more than anyone.

"Professor, perhaps I should show you the events of my time travel," Hermione said, knowing that in doing so he would realize her feelings for him, but in the grand picture of things it was a small sacrifice to bring truth to a man who more than deserved it.

"I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR SILLY MEMORIES GIRL," Snape yelled at her, waving his hands wildly before him. She had never seen him so angry. She stepped back, a little frightened by the intensity of his anger.

"Really Severus," Minerva piped in, affronted that he had treated Hermione, who she considered an innocent bystander, in such a way.

"Don't." He snapped at the older witch, turning his attention back to the Headmaster.

"Severus, I cannot tell you how inexplicably sorry I am. I cannot tell you how guilty I felt, fueling your own guilt, knowing that it was given to a person you owed little too. The only thing you should have done to repent your previous actions, was to make up for giving Voldemort the information about the Prophecy, something that would have required much less than what you gave. But you must understand, Harry had to be kept safe and I knew that side of yourself you kept so secret, that compassionate side, would only do us good in this war. Please know that it was done for the good—"

"Don't spew that nonsense at me Albus. I have given more than enough for the greater good. What you are telling me now contradicts everything I know. Lily Evans was a beautiful person, she was kind hearted, and the only friend I had growing up. The only cruelty she ever showed me came at my own actions and fault," Professor Snape's words were saturated with a deep sadness that pierced the room and tainted it's occupants. He didn't deserve this.

Hermione took a deep breath, knowing that the next words she spoke would only serve to anger Professor Snape further.

"She was not a good person Professor. She was cruel, she took pleasure in humiliating you, and she only ever wanted power. It's hard for me to speak of her that way, knowing that she is the mother of one of my best friends, but I saw the real Lily Evans when I traveled in the past. She was not a good person." Hermione said the words quickly, alarmed by the increasingly crazy look that was in Professor Snape's eyes.

"Don't you EVER talk about Lily Evans that way in my presence, EVER AGAIN," He shouted before stalking to the door, opening it, and slamming it shut behind him. She could hear his angry curses follow him down the stair steps and she felt sick—sick with herself, sick with anger, and mostly sick with Professor Dumbledore.

"Hermione," Minerva said, "Surely Lily Potter wasn't all that bad. I remember her as being a lovely person who touched several people's lives. Her love was the only thing that kept young Mr. Potter alive! She had to have been good."

"Ah, Minerva." Dumbledore said sadly, "I believe that eventually Lily began to truly love James Potter and with that she had begun to change into the person that most people remember her as. I was concerned for Harry's wellbeing when he was first born, but it was clear to me that Lily had changed and that she truly had loved her son. She didn't deserve to die, by any means, but she was not a good person while she attended Hogwarts."

Hermione watched Minerva McGonagall as she contemplated Dumbledore's words. Finally she nodded her head with a firm shake.

"Well then Albus," Minerva spoke again, this time her voice shaking in its anger, "You have a lot of explaining to do."

The late Headmaster hung his head guilty and only nodded, sadness filled his blue eyes and it became more than Hermione could take.

"I can't listen to this right now," she whispered, aware that the morning's events were beginning to affect her. Tears would start pouring down her face at any moment and she was not ready to place herself in such a vulnerable position.

She shakily stood up from her chair and walked to the door, opening it and leaving quietly.

"She loves him," Minerva said with awe after Hermione had left, forgetting for a moment that the Headmaster she had trusted had been quite dishonest.

"Yes," Albus said, "I believe she does."

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